Guardian of a New Light
by AFatFlyingWhale
Summary: A guardian is sent on a mission to Remnant. How will he fare against a whole new threat, the pure darkness beings that are the Grimm? With new friends surfacing and old enemies re-emerging, the young guardian will face some of his toughest trials yet.
1. Chapter 1: Landing

**A/N: Honestly, this is my first time writing anything of substance, and definitely the first time I have ever posted something I have written. This is, for the record, an OC insert story, a RWBYxDestiny crossover. Don't expect quality, I'm shit at writing IMO. Here goes. (Disclaimer: I own nothing)**

* * *

The ship floated amongst the vast emptiness of existence, with the pilot's interest directed at the planet directly in front of him. A quick flicker of blue attracted his attention, and he turned his head.

"So, is this the place the Vanguard sent me?" The pilot queried the little floating robot that hovered next to him.

"I believe so, Guardian. However, my scanners are not picking up any spacefaring signals, so they do not appear to have any form of satellites, or other spacecraft. Odd." The robot made an expression that would be considered a frown to anyone familiar with Ghosts.

"Vier, bring us down for a landing somewhere away from any prying eyes." The pilot ordered, and stood up from the cockpit's seat. He quickly moved to the small craft's bedroom, and continued through into its adjacent ensuite. With a brief splash of water, he washed his face, water dripping off his smooth pale skin. He looked at himself in the mirror, vibrant green eyes staring back at him. He ran his hand through his dirty blond hair, slicking it back, it's medium length making it quickly flop back into position. He sighed, quickly summoning his helmet back into place.

"Guardian, we are landing in thirty seconds." His ghost's voice echoed in his helmet's speakers. He turned, leaving the room, and walked back to the cockpit. The ship was landing in a small, snowy forest. The guardian began to look through the ship's inventory, prepping for a mission of this caliber. He decided that it wouldn't hurt to be prepared, and as such, he chose double the amount of weaponry he normally would. Strapping Fatebringer to his hip, and placing NL Shadow 701X into his inventory, he stood, thinking of what else he might need. At this thought, he trans-matted Conspiracy Theory-D into his inventory, and slung Hereafter over his left shoulder. Over his right, he slung Gjallarhorn. Now satisfied, he stepped outside his craft, and looked about. Around him stood trees, trunks blacked and leaves mostly gone. He was cautious, focused on the surrounding area.

"Guardian, I'm picking up some faint signals, but they seem…" Vier trailed off, still trying to discern the signals. "Apologies, Guardian. The signals are hard to decipher. They seem to be very primitive. If I were to be closer to a source, I have no doubt I could decipher the encryptions used." Vier was distracted, floating languidly next to his head. A small red flash went off on his hud.

"Vier, motion sensors are picking up movement. I don't want you attracting any unwanted attention." The guardian addressed his little robot companion, and it complied, dematerialising. The guardian hastily drew his hand cannon from it's place on his hip, and crouched low. He quickly began to stalk around towards where the motion had come from. After a few seconds of careful movement, he came upon a clearing covered in thick snow, similar to where he had landed. Hand cannon equipped in hand, he sighted, focusing on not only the young girl in the red cloak that had just entered the clearing, but on the plethora of black lupine-esq creatures, with glowing red eyes.

"Guardian, these creatures are unlike anything anyone has ever seen before. They appear to be comprised of complete darkness. This could be very bad." Vier's voice came from the speakers inside the guardian's helmet. The guardian made no move, hoping the girl had enough sense to run from these creatures. Instead, she kept walking, seemingly unaware of the danger she was in. The guardian didn't want to involve himself, direct orders from the Vanguard were to remain under the radar, and when Cayde-6 agreed with the other Vanguard members, that meant the orders were serious.

"Guardian, I know of our orders, but can we sit here and let this girl die?" Vier looked suitably concerned, and the guardian shared the same feeling. However, at least, from his position, it seemed that the girl had noticed the now surrounding enemy. Her response to that threat completely threw the guardian off, however, as when three of the creatures charged her, she seemed to disappear.

"Vier, how did she...?" The guardian's voice caught, still startled. He looked up at the moon, and noticed her, seemingly floating. He was about to make a move to help, when she drew a very large rifle, and began to fire it _one-handed_. The guardian's eyes widened behind his helmet, and he simply stared as she began flying around the clearing, firing the massive rifle into the enemies, blasting chunks of black and red gore from them. She killed one, sliding back from the recoil, and suddenly, with a series of hand movements, she had somehow transformed her rifle into a massive red scythe. She quickly spun it, catching one of the creatures beneath her blade, and pulled the trigger, rifle firing as the blade cleanly slipped through the flesh of the beast, cutting it in half. With some more spins, she planted the blade of the scythe into the snow, and began systematically firing it, the bolt of the rifle being pulled to chamber the round being in perfect synchronization with the pulling of the trigger. Whoever this girl was, she was obviously very skilled with that very large, very odd weapon. One of the creatures from the cluster reached her, and took a swing. With a leap, she dodged the blow, and fired the scythe in mid-air, the recoil sending her flying back from the action. Even as she flew she planted the blade into the ground, stopping the scythe, and she used her continued momentum to pull herself up and onto the top of the haft of it. With perfect balance, she stood there, taking in the sudden appearance of more of the creatures.

They closed in on her, and she performed a series of movements to complex to identify from the distance he was at. After a flurry of spins, slashes and combinations of the two, she used the recoil from the sniper/scythe to launch herself into the air, decapitating a creature as she did so. The creatures began to run towards her, leaping up to reach her. She leapt from one creature to another, killing both in the process, before blocking a hit from another of the seemingly endless supply of creatures. Sliding backwards, blade dragging in the snow to buy purchase and slow her momentum, she stopped to look at the horde as they growled and snarled eerily at her. She dropped her currently loaded magazine, and withdrew another from her belt. Spinning the scythe till the barrel of the rifle was behind her, she chambered a round and fired. The moment she did, she flew forward, at incredible speed. She passed through two of the creatures, removing them from the fight, before touching down, legs moving at insane speed to propel her forwards. A second shot launched her even faster, as the blade of the scythe rotated upwards, and then flipped 180 degrees. With a third shot, she began to spin even as she flew. Slashing through the horde, arms and blade moving faster than my eyes could feasibly pick up, she tore through the horde, punctuating the night air with gunfire, howling and the sound of limbs being removed from bodies.

After a few moments, the clearing was devoid of life except for one small girl stood in the very center, scythe held behind her, rose petals scattered about, lazily floating towards the ground. She seemed pleased at her work, and lost track of her surroundings. A shot rang out from where the guardian was hidden, as he had drawn his sniper rifle 'Hereafter', and fired, the bullet obliterating the head of one of the creatures, which had been sneaking up behind her. Having alerted her to his presence, he walked out from the trees, stowing his sniper in it's place on his back. She jumped back at the sound of the bullet, whipping around to see the dead creature slowly dissolving into the night, and a man in full armor walking out of the treeline.

"W-who are you?" She called out, her voice high-pitched and full of youth. She shifted her scythe back into its rifle form, and pointed it at him.

"My name is Flare Archid. I'm new in the area, was wandering around when I heard you. Who are you, if you don't mind me asking?" He answered her, his voice sounding slightly robotic as it came from the speaker on his helmet.

"I'm Ruby Rose, good to meet you Flare. Thanks for the backup, I didn't think he was still alive." She stopped aiming the weapon, and folded it up completely, stowing it on her back. "So when did you arrive on Patch?"

"Honestly, I have no idea where I am right now. I'm kinda lost." Flare responded, and she could tell from the way he rubbed the back of his helmet that he wasn't lying. On Flare's part, he wasn't exactly lying, but nor was he going to tell this young girl the truth about him.

"Well, my dad's a hunter, so maybe you can come with me and talk to him, then maybe that'll help?" Ruby was determined to be helpful, and Flare just nodded.

"Lead the way, by all means. I could use some help." Flare told the girl. "Vier, keep an eye on the sensors, notify me on any update on the decryption." Flare made sure that he whispered it, the inbuilt microphone not picking up his voice.

"Understand Guardian, will do." Vier used the armor's internal comms to talk, not revealing his presence.

"So, Ruby, I have a few questions for you. How did you manage to do all that?" Flare asked the short-statured girl that walked just ahead of him. She turned, walking backwards as they walked along the road.

"Well, my semblance makes me really fast, and my sweetheart is really cool, so I'm really good." She scratched the back of her head, obviously proud of her weapon.

"Wait, sweetheart?" Flare looked at her, head tilted.

"Yeah, her name is Crescent Rose, she's a customizable high-impact sniper rifle and a scythe. I built her myself." Ruby chirped happily, enjoying the conversation about weaponry. "What are your weapons called?"

"This," he gestured to his sniper rifle. "Is 'Hereafter', my sniper rifle. This," he patted the hand cannon on his hip. "Is 'Fatebringer', my hand cannon. And this," he shrugged his shoulder, jostling the weapon. "Is Gjallarhorn, my rocket launcher. They were all a pain to get a hold of, but they have carried me here, so I'd say they were worth it. I have a few others, well, a lot of others, but these are the ones I carry on me usually." Ruby was slack-jawed as she walked, the sheer volume of weapons I carried seemingly strange for her.

"Why do you have so many weapons, why not combine them?" She asked, obviously confused.

"Well, I'd rather not, seeing as these aren't exactly replicable, at least, not here. The weapons suit me enough for any situation, I'm yet to need to combine them." His reply was simple. Flare didn't believe that it was even possible to modify the weapons, but maybe he'd grab a weapon he didn't use often, and try what the girl had said. 'Could either turn out interesting or disastrous, either way being fun.' He thought to himself, considering the idea.

* * *

After ten or so minutes of walking, they came across a small cabin. The majority of the snow had melted, leaving patches of white atop mint-green grass. Flare heard barking from inside, and a blond-haired man opened the door. He was wearing a tan and brown short-sleeved dress shirt with a small brown vest on top, with a metal pauldron on his right shoulder and an orange arm band on his left. He wore yellowish cargo shorts and brown combat boots.

"Hey sweetie, who's this?" He asked, eyeing Flare cautiously. His face was calm, but he carried himself with an air of a trained warrior.

Ruby piped up quickly. "This is Flare Archid, he's a little lost so I brought him here so you could help him. The man raised his eyebrows as she said it, studying the guardian.

"How does a guy in full armor, especially the kind I've never even seen before, end up lost on Patch?" He faced Flare, still on guard. Flare raised his hands, and removed his helmet, thinking that at least seeing a somewhat innocent face would help convince him that he wasn't a threat to him or his daughter. He raised his eyebrows even further as Flare's face was revealed, that of a eighteen year old.

"Sorry to bother you, Mister…" Flare trailed off, not wanting to presume anything. "I was just wondering if I could ask you a few questions about where I am. I kinda had some kind of incident, and now I remember few things about the world."

"Name's Tai Yang Xiao Long, but just call me Tai." He quickly addressed the first part of the guardian's sentence. "Sorry to hear about that 'incident' of yours, but please, come in. If Ruby trusts you, that's good enough for me. I'll tell you whatever you want to know." He gestured to Flare, indicating to follow Ruby inside, as she walked through the door. Flare quickly followed suit, with Tai closing the door behind him. Ruby walked up to one of the chairs at the table inside, and Flare did as well. Once they were all sat, Flare turned to the two of them.

"Thanks for your help. I don't even remember how I lost my memories, just that I did. I have fragments, of times of importance, but there are no names to associate with them. I remember my name, the names of my weapons, and a few other things, but that is pretty much it. You said this was Patch, right?" Tai looked at Ruby, who was busy snacking down on a plate of strawberries, but still listening.

"Yeah, the island of Patch. It's just off the coast of Vale, actually." Tai replied.

"Okay, so I don't even know where or what Vale is, nor what those things Ruby was fighting earlier are. Do you mind telling me?"

Tai's eyebrows shot up again at this, and Ruby tried to sink into the chair.

"Those are Grimm. Creatures without a soul, they exist only to kill those with a soul; humans and faunus. As for Vale, it's one of the four kingdoms on Remnant." Tai answered. He turned to his daughter. "Fighting grimm, huh. Going out and picking fights?"

"No dad, it isn't like that. I was just heading back from seeing mom, and I kinda just bumped into them. If I hadn't, though, I wouldn't've met Flare. So this isn't all bad, right?" Ruby squirmed in her seat, hoping that the attention would be turned around somewhere else.

"Sure thing, kiddo. As for you, Flare, I think I know someone you should talk to, and I'm sure he would be only happy to assist." Tai spoke, and looked out the window. "As for a place to stay the night before you go to him, stay here. It's the least I can do, considering you helped Ruby out. We have a guest bedroom in the loft. It might be a little cold, but it'll be better than sleeping outside." Flare nodded, accepting the offer. They sat there for a split-second before the roar of an ancient transport came from outside. Ruby jumped up and ran to the door. Tai also stood up, but unlike his daughter, he walked over to the frame. Flare followed, taking his helmet under his arm, other hand resting in one of the knives that was hidden behind his cloak.

The bike pulled up, and off hopped a blonde woman, long hair spilling over her back. She placed her helmet on the seat of the bike, and waved at Ruby and Tai. Ruby ran over, giving her a hug. Tai turned back to Flare.

"That's my eldest daughter, Yang." He told Flare, before a serious look came over his eyes. "Don't even think about it."

Flare laughed, hand coming away from the knife. "Relax, I'm no wooer of the opposite gender. Most tend to ignore me anyway. Doesn't show enough emotion, apparently." Tai laughed at this. Yang walked in, her sister beside her.

"Who're you, big guy?" She asked, looking Flare up and down. She put her hand on her side, against the belt that was slung just above a pair of short shorts. The lilac of the fabric that dangled off the side of the belt matched to colour of her eyes, and her hair, a vivid yellow-blonde, matched the yellow of her undertop. She wore a brown leather jacket over that, and had two golden bracelets on above her gloves.

"My name's Flare Archid, pleasure to meet you." Flare held out his hand, and she took it, shaking it with hidden strength. She stood at 6ft, a little shorter than her father, and more than a head taller than her sister.

"So, how'd you end up here?" She asked, as she continued to look at his armor. "You look like a fighter though, huh. You a hunter?"

Her question caught him off guard, because he WAS a hunter. He quickly recovered, however, remembering what Ruby had said earlier. "Something like that, I think. I hunt the creatures of darkness." She frowned at his way of calling the grimm, but accepted it nonetheless.

"Yang, Flare here is staying the night in the loft, because I kinda owe him one for helping Rubes earlier, and he has nowhere else to go. He'll be headed into Vale tomorrow with you two though, so help him out?" Tai addressed both daughters with the second sentence, before turning to Flare. "Don't happen to have any kind of vehicle that you could follow Yang on tomorrow, do you?"

Flare nodded confirmation, hoping that a hoverbike wouldn't attract to much. His sparrow wasn't exactly common, but he hoped no one would pay enough attention to notice. Tai however, wasn't expecting the answer.

"Wait, you do? I wasn't expecting that." He looked at Flare confusedly.

"It's back at my campsite. I'll go pick it up tomorrow morning, early enough not to bother anyone." Flare replied, hoping to skip past the accidental awkwardness.

Yang wasn't done, however. "So, if you can fight, wanna spar? I've had a long day and I wanna relieve some stress. Easiest way to do that is beat up a 'senior' hunter." Flare looked at Tai, wondering why she was so quick to judge his abilities. Tai, on his part, just put his palm on his face.

"Sure thing. Let me put on my helmet and show me where." Flare figured that he had time to kill, and what better way to kill it then by beating this cocky girl into submission.

* * *

Outside was a swath of dirt, meticulously kept clear of snow. It wasn't small, but it wasn't big either, a circle with a radius of about 40ft.

"What are the rules on weapons?" Flare asked, addressing the now umpire Tai.

Tai looked at Yang for a second, then back at Flare. "Any and all weapons are allowed, but I can call the match whenever I want. Got it?" He looked back at Yang, who nodded. Flare nodded in agreement, and put his left hand on a knife, not drawing it from its sheath. Yang flicked her wrists, and to Flare's surprise, the bracelets transformed into gauntlets, with a belt of shotgun shells running alongside it. Underneath his helmet, he quirked an eyebrow.

"Begin!" Tai shouted, and stepped back. Yang's opening gambit was a wide haymaker, too easy to counter. Flare quickly stepped into the path of her punch, grabbing her by the punching arm and hip, and tossing her to the ground. She hit the ground hard, thrown off by the sudden movement. Hastily, she got to her feet, and fired a shot from her gauntlet. Flare side-stepped it easily, the slug passing him by millimetres. She charged him, punching much harder and faster than previously. He drew his knife, blocking and sidestepping her consistent attacks with ease. She tried to sweep his leg, which he countered by simply kicking her thigh, removing any power from knocking him off of his feet. He flipped over her, throwing his knife, which she dodged. He quickly blinked behind her, completely throwing her off as he grabbed her around the neck from behind, a chokehold cutting off her airflow. She elbowed out of it, and attempted to do the same to him. He let her, and she locked her elbow around his neck, squeezing as hard as she could. Her eyes widened when his muscles didn't even move, and she realised his armor was far superior to whatever strength she applied. She quickly lifted him up, attempting to slam her into the ground, when he simply disappeared out of her grip, suddenly in front of her. He punched, his armored fist colliding with her face as she couldn't get her block on time. She was knocked upwards, his uppercut landing directly. She rotated in the air, seeing him looking at her. Firing, she propelled herself downwards, slamming into the ground where he had been standing. The ground shook as she impacted, and she stood up, eyes focused on him. She charged him, and he decided to switch up his tactics.

She swung a punch at him, and he blocked it, drawing Fatebringer and leveling it to her temple in one fast motion. She quickly grabbed his outstretched arm, and flung him sideways. He fired his hand cannon, the bullet hitting some kind of energy shield that she was wearing. He hit the ground, sliding and firing. After eleven shots, the majority of which were hits, he performed a quick flourish, now standing where he had been lying. Out popped the magazine, and twelve new rounds were quickly inserted into the gun. She screamed at him, eyes red and hair ablaze, before she sprinted at him. He quickly holstered his gun in his hip, and drew two of his knives. A quick thought, and he was suddenly encased in electricity, his blades acting as channeling points. He danced around her reckless attacks, getting quick strikes in as she wailed away at where he was only moments before. Suddenly, she faltered, obviously weakened by the fight, and he took advantage, dispelling his Arc Blades and grabbing her arm. He twisted, and she was on her knees, arm locked behind her as he held her in place. He slowly tugged it, and she buckled. She was quick to tap out, and Tai walked over.

"Well done Yang, but Flare is the victor of the match." Tai helped his daughter up off the floor, and Ruby handed Flare the knife he had thrown during the fight. He wordlessly accepted it, nodding thanks as he sheathed it.

"Damn, you're pretty good." Yang sighed as she stumbled over to the bench that sat against the house. "Where'd you learn all that? I barely even hit you when I was at my best, and you kept teleporting around, and then that aura with the blades. Plus that gun of yours packs a punch." Yang sighed again, resting her hands behind her head.

"I've had a lot of time to practice, and the gun is really well made. One of it's kind on Remnant. Feel lucky I didn't pull out 'Conspiracy Theory-D', that shotgun would've made short work of you considering how many openings you gave me." Flare laughed at the face Yang made when he said that. "If I had felt like it, I could've leveled you in that opening punch of yours. Not exactly hard either, draw shotgun, step in, grab, spin, fire. Easy." Yang opened her mouth to argue but noticed her father nodding in agreement.

"So you think I'm bad?" She asked, genuine concern on her face.

"Hardly. I just know I'm better. You would be far better if you stopped with the wild, reckless attacks, and actually focused on an opponent's weak spots." He turned to Tai. "I'm gonna duck out for a sec, do something real quick. Is that okay?"

Tai nodded, somewhat caught off-guard as the man addressed him. Flare jogged off.

* * *

"Vier, having fun?" He asked, teasing the ghost. In reply, it materialised, floating in front of him.

"Surprisingly, yes Guardian. I have managed to access the unencrypted files that are available to the public on the planetary network, and I can confirm a majority of the things that Mr Xiao Long has told you, and then some. That shield that Ms Xiao Long possessed is a form of, and I am serious, Guardian, personified manifestation of the soul. That, to me, sounds as if they have successfully managed to summon Light forth as a shield. Something even Guardians lack the ability to do, or rather, lack the knowledge to do. In theory, it could be possible to awaken in you, Guardian, but at the moment I believe we should speak with the man Mr Xiao Long recommended. It would be most beneficial to introduce me to him, so as not to bore you either. Give me a few hours and I will also break all the encryptions as well, just so we know everything we need and want to, along with any kind of leverage we may need." Vier was glad to be of such service, and he knew his guardian was happy to hear the report. However, Vier had to disappoint him. "We do have one problem. Without glimmer, we lack the necessary materials to construct ammo. Either we find a way to incorporate this planet's equivalent, Dust, or you get new weapons." He sensed the slight frustration that the guardian gave.

"Well done Vier, that was… comprehensive. You have been enjoying yourself. I'm headed back, so best you vanish. Have fun." Flare walked back to the house as Vier dematerialised behind him. Entering the house, Tai directed him to the loft, and Flare thanked him. According to his HUD, it was early evening, and Tai had told him dinner would be soon. Dinner itself was modest, Flare mostly listening to Ruby chatter on about the newest weapon magazines. Tai humoured her, listening with the patience of a good father. Yang was lost in thought, mostly about how she lost the fight so one-sidedly. After excusing himself and quickly taking care of his dishes, Flare retired to the loft, prepared to get some sleep. He mentally asked Vier to wake him at four, and then quickly fell asleep.

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 **Hope you enjoyed, sorry if it was too short. Once again, this was my first attempt. I'm not sure where I'm going with this yet, so expect this to not continue. I'll honestly be happy if even one person reads this, regardless of whether or not they enjoy it, so thanks. Second chapter should be out reasonbly soon.**

 **See you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	2. Chapter 2: Introductions

**A/N: Hey all, hope you enjoyed the last chapter. Back again with another installment. Warning, this one is pretty story-heavy, not much combat I'm afraid. I really appreciate all of you reading this, by the way. Next chapter will be most probably introducing some of the Volume 1 story elements, so some of the plot will be more familiar. Remember to leave a review if you want, it always helps. (Disclaimer: I own nothing)**

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He woke, the alarm beeping. After quickly dismissing it, he snuck downstairs and out the door, hoping that he hadn't woken any of the occupants. He began the trek to his craft, which he had left parked and somewhat camouflaged in the woods. As he walked, he noticed that the trees had seemed to have gained some colour as opposed to yesterday, and that the snow had almost completely melted. It appeared he had landed as the planet was rotating from it's winter season. He also noticed that there was a small red flicker on the edge of his motion sensor, and the fleck was getting bigger the closer he got to his ship. He drew Fatebringer, and held it at his side in a ready position. As he got closer, the clearing where he had parked his ship was empty, save for one lone bear-looking grimm. Vier materialised next to Flare's head, critically eyeing the bear-grimm.

"Guardian, the data I have recovered states this grimm is designated an Alpha Ursa. It is very tough, and solely fights in melee. I would recommend the 'Hive Knight Sword Strategy'. Flare smiled under the helmet, remembering how hard it had been the first time he fought a Hive Knight. That'd been fun. He holstered Fatebringer and swapped Hereafter for Conspiracy Theory-D. Vier looked at Flare.

"Guardian, I said 'do not engage in melee', did you go deaf overnight?" Vier was concerned, but Flare just shrugged, drawing the shotgun.

It was over in a second. Flare blinked up to the Ursa, which turned around at his presence. A swift shot to the head knocked the Ursa onto its rear, in which Flare responded by jumping up onto it, leveling the barrel and firing again. A second shell spent, and the Ursa Major began to dissolve.

"See Vier, told you it'd be fine. Nothing to it." Vier just sighed, the rear part of him rotating in response. Flare bent down, noticing a small shining object beneath the Ursa. "How. How is this even possible." Flare bent down and withdrew the object, an icosahedron that looked as if it was made of crystal. Flare looked at Vier, then back at the object. It shifted color, from red, to white, to black, then finally yellow, before back to red.

"It would appear that you are holding an engram of unknown origin, Guardian. I… am honestly not sure what to make of this." Vier looked confused, and to confuse an AI was certainly a difficult thing to do, if you didn't know what you were doing.

"I have a couple questions, but the first one is where the hell do we get this decrypted? Ain't exactly like there is a Cryptarch on this planet, is there?" Flare 'pocketed' the engram, and walked up to his ship.

"Well, there are documents to teach those well versed enough in the light how to become one, but I possessed that knowledge before we arrived. We could teach someone, but that knowledge is strictly harboured. We would have to be incredibly careful about who we taught." Flare looked at Vier as he learnt something new.

"Huh, didn't know they gave that information out. If they did, I'm certain we would've banded together to kick the cryptarch out of the tower, though, so I suppose it makes sense." Flare laughed as he entered the ship. "Vier, can you grab my sparrow out of storage?"

"Of course Guardian, just try not to crash this time." Vier made the most 'frowny' face that a floating cube with a single eye could, which Flare flicked him in in response.

Flare began to grab a bunch of weapon and armor components from storage, preparing for his inevitable venture into weaponsmithing later on. He knew that modifying his weapons would be more trouble than it was worth, when he invariably left the planet.

* * *

After having sorted his inventory and grabbed a few choice items, Flare exited the ship. It'd taken him a significant amount of time to figure out everything, and he had spent some time scrolling through some of the choice information Vier had managed to crack into. It was now around half-past six in the morning.

Quickly summoning his sparrow, the 'S-34 Ravensteel', he clambered aboard. Revving the engine, he gunned the throttle, he shot across the clearing, before he slowed down and began coasting down the path that led to the Xiao Long residence. He slowed down, parking the sparrow adjacent to Yang's bike. He made sure not to touch it, lest he see the blonde's fiery temper in action again. Didn't want to burn a house down, not the best way to make a positive impact into people's lives. He opened the front door and walked in, taking off his helmet and closing the door behind him. The smell hit him before the sight. Tai was cooking pancakes, and good ones at that. Flare walked in through the foyer, into the kitchen.

"Morning Flare, finished with your errands?" Tai asked, flipping a pancake on the frying pan that sat on the stovetop.

"Yeah, all done. My vehicle is outside, ready to go." Flare replied, noticing that there was a distinct lack of burning gas smell. He attributed it to Fire Dust, one of the common dust types he had learnt about in his light reading.

"Good to hear. Considering that no meal is ever free, you get to wake up the girls." He laughed, with Flare not realising exactly how difficult that would prove. Flare nodded in response to the request, and left the kitchen. He walked down a hallway towards their bedrooms, knocking on Ruby's first.

"Ruby, rise and shine. There are pancakes, and I believe there are strawberries." He barely finished the sentence when a blur of red rose petals fired past him, leaving the door swinging on it's unsurprisingly heavily reinforced hinges. Flare then moved over to Yang's door, and knocked. There was a response, albeit quiet, which was a snore. Flare knocked a little louder, following it up with, "Yang, breakfast." The same response came. Flare sighed, not willing to try a third time. He drew Fatebringer and walked outside, around the side of the house to where Yang slept in her bed. He raised the hand cannon in the air, and fired a shot. The startled yelp of the blonde followed as she shot up out of bed, gauntlets on. She looked out the window and saw Flare standing there, smirking.

"UP YOURS, ASS!" She shouted, flipping him off. The guardian just laughed, walking back inside.

"Figured it out, huh." Tai was chuckling at Flare's distinct lack of tact. Flare smirked back.

"Wouldn't be the first time, I assume?" He asked rhetorically, as the brawler walked out of the hallway, practically fuming.

"It's 6:45 in the morning. Morning! That isn't fair!" Yang grumbled very audibly.

"What's wrong Yang, not a morning person?" Flare was the very picture of innocence, sat next to a walking deity of innocence, and together he and Ruby pulled off a very convincing performance. Yang just sighed in response, grabbing a plate and joining the two, followed by her father.

"So Flare, I'll call ahead when I can, let him know that you are headed his way." Tai spoke, after finishing a bite. "His name is Ozpin, he's the headmaster of Beacon Academy." His explanation was succinct.

"I really appreciate the help Tai, likewise for the two of you." Flare gestured at the girls. Yang just snorted, while Ruby reply was indistinguishable from the mouthful of pancake and strawberry.

Tai glared at her, and she quickly swallowed. "Anytime Flare, just happy to help." She smiled.

"So Yang, what are you going into Vale for?" Flare quizzed. She looked up, frowning slightly.

"I'm going in mostly for the Beacon entrance exam, but i'm also going to take Ruby. Said something about weapons and dust." Ruby, for her part, nodded.

"I don't know where I'm going, so I'll follow you. Just lead the way, and I'll try not to overtake you." Flare said the last part as a friendly joke, but the look he got made it seem as if Yang had taken it as a challenge.

"Well, we'll leave as soon as we are ready, which'll be just after breakfast, right sis?" Yang looked at her sister, who nodded through a mouthful of deliciousness.

"Just let me know when." Flare thanked Tai, and stood from the table. He cleared and washed his dishes once again, and walked out the front, taking a seat sideways on his sparrow. He closed his eyes, and let his mind wander.

* * *

" _C'mon Flare, we'll be late if you don't wake up. We kinda need you for this strike, it isn't going to be easy with just two of us. Yes, I know it's just a routine strike, but with Hive presence of the moon skyrocketing, we need you to help. The so-called Oryx-Slayer himself can get by with killing Thralls, can he not?"_

* * *

"Flare. Flare? Remnant to Mystery Man?" Yang was calling out to him. Flare quickly returned to the land of the living. "Have you been sitting here the whole time? We had breakfast almost an hour ago!"

Flare just nodded. "Are we ready to go?" He asked.

Yang nodded confirmation, put on her helmet, and tossed a spare to Ruby, who caught it and put it on. Or would've had she not been staring at the sparrow.

"Woah! What is that! I've never seen anything like it!" Ruby was gushing, investigating it from about half an inch away.

"Rubes, c'mon, I got a deadline to meet, remember?" Yang admonished her sister, who picked up the helmet and put it on, climbing on the back of the bike and grabbing onto her sister. Yang nodded at Flare, before starting up the bike and gunning the engine. "Keep up!" She shouted back at Flare, who simply grunted in acknowledgement. Starting up the sparrow, Flare followed suit, near silent sparrow following the noisy motorbike.

After almost an hour of travel, the two vehicles and their passengers reached a small town, with a big control tower. Near the tower was a big airship, in preparation for takeoff. Yang drove her bike up to a cargo ramp, and Flare did likewise. Both of them parked, Yang buying two tickets from a machine. Flare gulped, and looked at Yang. She looked back, and sighed.

"You owe me now. So you'd better pay me back." Yang tossed the local currency, lien, at Flare, who caught it and bought a ticket. The three of them walked through the gate and into the airship's passenger deck. Taking their seats, Yang pulled out a small handheld device, colloquially known as a scroll, and began to play games on it. Ruby pulled out hers, but began to read. Flare took a quick glance, noticing the title 'Weaponsmithing Issue #42'. I quickly sub-vocalized to Vier to bring up the first issue onto my HUD, and began to read.

* * *

The flight lasted about six hours, and in that time Flare had gotten to the thirty-fifth issue. He was now rather well versed in the intricacies of Remnant's weapon-crafting, and he was happy to have Vier, who had absorbed far more information than he. The airship gave a soft thud as it touched down in Vale, the city vibrant and busy. Yang stood, nudging Ruby to wake her up from her nap. Ruby jolted awake, and quickly rose to join her sister. Flare followed suit, heading down to the vehicles.

They grabbed their transportation, and drove out of the airship. Flare followed Yang and Ruby as they drove towards the city centre. Moments later, Yang pulled up outside a strip mall of sorts. Ruby hopped off, putting her helmet in it's place. She said goodbye to Yang and waved to Flare, before walking into the nearest shop. Yang began her drive, and once again Flare followed suit. The pair rolled up to a rather large shuttle station, absolutely clustered with colour as hundreds of vibrantly clothed people, all equipped with various weapons, loitered around the shuttle bay. A series of smaller airships were flying back and forth between the station and the massive academy that lay beyond. Yang parked her bike, chaining it to a post next to the spot. Flare parked just behind her, not needing to secure the vehicle in any way. The two waited in amicable silence as the airships delivered loads of applicants to the academy.

After some time, Flare found himself standing in a magnificent facility, vaguely reminiscent of The City, back on Earth. Around milled hopeful applicants numbering in the thousands. Yang waved goodbye, going to join her friends. Flare picked up a few of their words.

"...you find a big guy like that?" was one of the most coherent sentences he picked up before moving on to the main facility where the staff entrances were. Entering, he walked into the elevator. At the top, a blonde woman with glasses looked at him from over her desk.

"Who are you? If you are a student, I must inform you that the school is currently closed. If you are an applicant, the tests are downstairs, where the crowds are thickest." The woman frowned as the visual registered. In front of her stood a man wearing armor made from unknown materials, seemingly decorated with the skulls of unknown animals. She stared for a moment, curiosity getting the better of her, before she spoke again. "If you are not either of those, then you must be Ozpin's appointment. My name is Glynda Goodwitch, the vice-headmaster of Beacon Academy. Please come this way." She gestured at Flare, who followed her into a large office covered in gears, with a wide window at the end. Just in front of the window was a desk with a chair that looked as if it was made of more gears. In the chair sat a middle-aged man with small wireframe glasses and a mug of coffee. Flare walked up to the desk, removing his helmet.

"Pleasure to meet you…" Flare began, "My name is Flare Archid, and I was recommended to come see you by someone called-" Flare was interrupted by the man in the chair, as he stood.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr Archid. You may call me Professor Ozpin. Let us skip the formalities of you lying about your presence and reason for being here. I knew the moment Tai sent you to me that he didn't trust your story for a second. Now if we can be frank with each other, I'm certain you and I will end up strong allies. Now what _really_ brings you to my office on such a lovely day?" Flare was caught off-guard, not expecting the man in front of him to see through his deceit so easily.

"If you want the truth, Professor, I'm afraid that will take a significant amount of time to fully explain. The best I can do is introduce you to my friend and partner, who would be more than willing to explain everything and answer any questions that you might have." At this, Vier appeared, floating next to Flare's head.

"Greetings Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch. My name is designated as Vier. It is a pleasure to meet you both." Both professors raised their eyebrows, obviously intrigued by the little floating cube that had just materialized in front of their eyes. "I will be more than capable of explaining everything, so please do listen, but do not be worried about interrupting with a question, I am more than happy to answer. I believe we should start from the beginning." Vier's cubic parts separated, revealing a glowing blue sphere of energy. The parts began rotating, and out of Vier's 'eye' projected a holographic image.

"This is Earth, the planet Flare was originally risen from." The orb in the image zoomed out, revealing a series of other orbs. "This is the solar system that orbits the star, Sol." The image changed again. "This is the Traveller. The Traveller is a celestial being of light, somewhat equivalent to a god. Over seven hundred years ago, it arrived in our solar system, catching the attention of Humanity. After some time, it made contact with Earth, gifting Humanity with vast knowledge. With this knowledge, Humanity created technology light years ahead of where they had been beforehand, allowing them to expand across the system to create expansive colonies on nearby worlds. This marked the beginning of the golden age."

"All this ended abruptly when Humanity discovered the Traveller's greatest, most numerous enemy. The Darkness, a force that had corrupted and converted multiple factions of aliens into doing its bidding. Due to the sudden appearance of the Darkness, Humanity was pushed into a massive war, which resulted in many if not all the colonies lost, and Humanity pushed back to it's final stand, The City. With this, the Traveller sacrificed the majority of it's life-force to repel the Darkness, and as such the Traveller settled in The City. With it's final breath, it created us, the Ghosts, to locate and revive lost warriors from long ago, imbuing them with the Traveller's Light. This event was known as the Collapse."

"For hundreds of years Humanity has been at war with the four races that followed the Darkness. The Fallen, a nomadic species of insectoids that are infamous scavengers and looters that are said to have once been members of a great civilization. They hope to reclaim glory by capturing the Traveller itself." The hologram changed to show an image of a Fallen Vandal.

"The second is the Hive. The Hive is a race that serves the Darkness directly, responsible for the crippling of Earth's moon. Effectively undead, the Hive are brutal, savage, and intelligent." The image changed to one of a Hive Knight.

"The third being the Cabal, a militaristic race of an industrial empire that spread through intelligent use of power, tactics, efficiency and corruption. They are renowned for their brutality and unrelentless power on the battlefield." The image changed again to the image of a Cabal Phalanx.

"Finally, the Vex. A race of sentient machines whose only want is to control the very passage of time, and reality itself. After converting the entire planet of Mercury to one giant machine, we have proof that their technology is superior in every way to our own. All we know about them is that the out-age Humanity by millennia." The image changed to an image of a Vex Goblin.

"The creatures of Darkness you call Grimm, however, unlike the four previous, seem to be completely composed of Darkness. This is incredibly odd, as nothing like this has ever been recorded before. However, with that aside, our role here was originally reconnaissance." The ghost finished recounting and informing the two stunned professors.

Flare joined back in. "However, due to my role as a defender of Humanity, I have changed my directive to assist in the destruction of the Grimm. As such, I am on a permanent stay here on Remnant until such time as I decide my role here is complete."

Ozpin looked at the guardian and his ghost, contemplating an idea. "Well, your history will have to remain a secret, and your cover will provide a majority of that. However, from what you have said, I must know whether or not you can fight. Let us come to an agreement. I would like you to enroll in Beacon Academy, as a student for now. If you prove to exceed the skills of a Huntsman, then we shall consider a further role. Is that acceptable?"

Flare simply nodded, replacing his helmet on his head. Ozpin smirked, sipping from his mug.

"You have left us with much to consider. If you would, please go downstairs and participate in the enrollment test. Good luck, Mr Archid." Ozpin stood from his chair, walking over to the window, where he proceeded to stare at the view.

Flare left the office, and entered the elevator. Pressing the button for the ground floor, he noticed Glynda hadn't moved from where she was standing, still staring at the spot where he had been standing. Perhaps he should've slowed down a little.

* * *

As Flare left, Ozpin thought to himself. ' _What is your game plan? If all of this is true, what do you hope to accomplish? What moves do you make that end in victory against this overwhelming force. What are you doing?'_

* * *

 **Hey all, hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review, the box is just below this. Expect the third chapter to come out either tomorrow or the next day, depending on when I finish writing it.**

 **See you next chapter  
** **~AFatFlyingWhale**


	3. Chapter 3: Acceptance

**A/N: Hey all, sorry about the delay between chapters. Losing internet connection for more than a week is a seriously shitty thing, trust me. Hope you enjoy the new chapter, and don't forget to review, so I can change and fix any problems, and hell, incorporate ideas. As usual; (Disclaimer: I own nothing)**

* * *

The man stood in front of her, his massive greatsword curved, the golden hue shining in the light. The green cloth covering his body providing a pleasant aftertaste to his golden pauldron. He stood easily seven foot, and she was out of her depth. So far he had shrugged off her hits as if they were nothing, and the only strike he had dealt had been significant in regards to power. Her teammates had proven beyond useless, one tapping out before the match began, and the other two having been hit by that strike. How they'd expected to make it with effort like that she had no idea. The giant used this lull to shift his weight, before bringing the bulk of the weapon slamming down on her, just missing, but the shockwave from his strength still sending her flying. Yang hit the wall hard, the concrete cracking behind her as she impacted. Her aura was dropping, and she had to make the next strikes count lest he simply knock her out. She charged in, taking yesterday's advice as she kept her frame tight, not giving any openings. She slid between the man's legs, grabbing them as she slid clear. Using her strength, she pulled him onto the ground, and she quickly jumped backwards, trapping him under her, using his legs as leverage. He struggled for a moment, before taking a deep breath and flinging his legs back. Yang was launched forwards, crashing into the wall at the far end of the arena. She collapsed, winded. The referee called the match, with Yatsuhashi declared winner of the fight. She stood up, stumbling out of the door. She cleared about two feet before bumping into someone. She looked up to apologise, but instead saw Flare. He looked at her quizzically.

"How'd it go, Yang?" He asked, even though he knew the answer. Yang sighed, sitting at a bench.

"Twice in two days I've lost a match. I hope it was enough to get into Beacon, cause otherwise Dad'll be pissed. So will I, though." She moped.

"At least watch my match, huh? According to Ozpin, I'm applying by taking this test. Go me and all that." He smiled, helmet tilting slightly. She stood up, walking over to the arena. Flare walked inside, with three other applicants walking in behind him. From both his personal experience and good eye he could tell only one of these students had any sort of fighting prowess. The one that did was confident but not bragging, like the other two, who were bickering about who fought better. Flare stood up, shoulders back as he waited for their opponent to enter the ring. Half a minute later, they did. A small girl with rabbit ears entered, followed by another girl with very fashionable attire and associated purse. The two began to square up against the group. The bickering pair finally began to pay attention.

"Oi, why the hell are there two of you?" The first one exclaimed.

"Yeah, there's only meant to be one of you!" The second one cried out. That was the last thing they said as the rabbit-eared girl jumpkicked the first one into the second one, her powerful kick flattening both. The fashionable one turned to Flare, whilst the bunny-girl turned to the other fighter. At this, the other fighter drew what looked like a spear, and a round shield. Flare quickly returned his attention to the girl in front. Thankfully he did so in time as her purse transformed into a minigun, somehow. Flare raised an eyebrow beneath his helmet, before quickly diving out of the way of the sudden burst of gunfire.

He rolled out of the dive, sprinting around as he avoided the stream of death. A quick blink behind her and he drew his knife, ready to place it against her throat to disable her-

"Coco, behind y...oof!" The rabbit-girl tried to warn her before the girl's shield collided with her head, knocking her back. Flare jumped back as the girl, Coco, shifted her weapon back into its compact form and swung backwards, narrowly missing the guardian. He sheathed his knife, drawing Fatebringer from his hip. A quick shot hit Coco in the chest, and she crumpled under the power of the impact. Winded, Coco looked up, only to see the barrel leveled at her head. Her face blanched as he pulled the trigger, the bullet completely knocking the girl unconscious. He turned back to see the rabbit-girl under a barrage of strikes, each placed in the perfect place to prevent any return. The rabbit-girl stumbled under the assault, before collapsing to the ground. The red-haired girl stood, victorious.

"Well fought." She spoke to the girl, who nodded on the ground, utterly defeated. Flare eyed the red-haired girl, dressed in goldish-bronze greek-esq styled armor. She held an aura of skill, and he could tell this was not her first arena fight. She studied him too, checking out his unique armor and weapons. Flare tilted his head at the scrutiny, before walking out of the arena. The girl quickly following suit. Yang met him, suddenly very suspicious.

"So when you fought me, you just treated me as if I wasn't a threat, huh." She asked, with an undertone of sadness.

"Trust me Yang, it isn't you. I've been fighting for most of my life. This kinda thing is nothing to me. I've fought far, far worse in far more number alone. That isn't me bragging, that is me _explaining_. Plus, she wasn't really a good counter to me. It would've been better to send the other girl after me." Flare spoke with confidence.

"Well, Mr I-Have-Fought-Everything, how about you pay me back for that ticket by going and picking up my sister? I have somewhere I have to be, and she'll need a lift back to our hotel room. Can you do that?" Yang poked him in the stomach, feeling her finger bend as it came into contact with the armor. He didn't even react to the poke.

"Yeah, I can do that. I gotta do something real quick, but I'll pick her up. See you later, Yang." Flare waved as he walked back towards the staff offices. It was time to find out the results.

"Well Flare, it would seem that you are indeed very skilled. In a week is the Initiation to Beacon. You, along with any others that passed will undergo the initiation. However, you will have a unique experience. We will talk more of that when it comes to it. For now, you have been given an office as personal quarters during your stay at Beacon. Room number 271, in the East Wing, I believe. Enjoy yourself."

The meeting had been brief. Flare walked towards room 271, and tapped his newly acquired scroll against the electrical lock. The door buzzed open, hinges squeaking slightly as it swung open. The room was a pleasant cream colour, with a bed in one corner, a desk in the other, and a small ensuite attached. Flare closed the door, and headed off to the shuttle dock that would take him into Vale. He had a job to complete, after all.

* * *

It was early evening when Ruby saw Flare cruising down the street on that amazing hoverbike of his. She flagged him down, waving her arms. He pulled up, stopping just next to her.

"Hey Ruby, your sister sent me to pick you up and take you to your hotel room. Hop on." Flare patted the rear part of the sparrow, and Ruby clambered on. Tucking her arms around his waist, Ruby clung to him as they cruised down the streets, the night air a pleasant cool breeze against her skin. They rode in silence, finding it difficult to talk through the wind. After a few minutes, they pulled up to a small motel, the one that Yang had provided the address for. Across the street was a club, music somewhat quiet for a bustling night scene. As Flare and Ruby dismounted, a loud scream was heard from the nightclub. They whipped their heads around to look, and a man in a suit shattered through the window, lying on the ground unconscious. This was swiftly followed by Yang jumping to the ground after him.

"Yang?" Ruby looked at her from where she was standing, "Is that you?"

"Oh hey, sis!" Yang looked surprised, and noticed Flare standing passively behind Ruby, leaning against his sparrow.

"What're you doing here?" Ruby asked the question, thoroughly confused as to why she had punched a man through a window in a club.

Yang sighed, and responded with a vague "It's a long story."

"Well, this is where I'll leave you two tonight. I have a place to stay myself, so I'll see you at Beacon, Yang." Flare remounted his sparrow. "That is, if you actually get in." Under his helmet he smirked, and with a wave he took off into the night.

"By Oum, that guy is _annoying_." Yang muttered, looking at her sister. "C'mon Rubes, let's get to bed. I've had a _long_ day." With this, the two sisters left the man on the street, entering the motel, and getting their room key.

"I hope I can see him again, he was really nice." Ruby said, half to herself. Her sister just sighed, before climbing under the covers and promptly collapsing into the sweet nothingness that was sleep. Moments later, Ruby, now in her bed, followed suit.

* * *

" _Flare, I'm hit, taking heavy fire. If you could shoot these fuckers it'd be appreciated!"_

 _Flare's rifle spat out rounds, each bullet colliding with the head of the acolytes that were taking cover, presumably thinking that the sniper couldn't possibly be that good a shot. As they collapsed under the pinpoint accuracy, more thralls spewed forth from the cave. The thralls seemed endless, and when joined by an entire cluster of knights, this battle had gone from potentially winnable to downright improbable._

" _Flare, we can't win this. We need to turn back, call for reinforcements from the Tower. This many knights means that they are practically impenetrable, and Tyron is wounded. Send the order."_

* * *

Flare woke up in his dorm room. He stood up from the bed, sweat glistening in the early morning sun that shined in through the crack in the blinds. It refracted off the droplets that covered him, and he wiped a hand over his forehead.

"Good morning, Guardian." Vier appeared, looking at Flare with a critical eye. "It would appear that you require a shower, Guardian, but you look as if you just stepped out of one. Is it the dreams again?" Flare didn't respond, only walking into the bathroom. A minute later an armored man stepped out, helmet in place and weapons equipped.

"Vier, any news on that decryption?" Flare asked his robotic companion, who was still floating near the bed.

"Surprisingly, yes Guardian. I have managed to completely integrate with this world's communication system, which used an architecture never before witnessed. I developed a translator that allowed me to correctly and secretly interface with the CCT network, and now I have access to anything connected. Whilst a majority of Valean information is nondescript and effectively unimportant, it is communications and data in Atlas that have me rather concerned." The cubic robot hovered over to where Flare was lying on the ground, already up to his twentieth push-up.

"The kingdom of Atlas seems to be a militant faction similar in ways to the Cabal, or at least a human comparison. They are leaps and bounds ahead of any other kingdom technologically speaking, and the world's biggest dust suppliers, the Schnee Dust Company, reside in Atlas, with the SDC's chief executive officer being a member of the Atlesian council. With the technology they have developed, they stand at least somewhat of a chance against potential invasion, but they focus their efforts on controlling those the are meant to protect. My estimate is that a majority of the Atlesian council is corrupt." Vier spoke without emotion, simply relaying his findings to his partner, who was now doing a set of very impressive one-handed push-ups.

"Does that help me in any way as of this… ugh… moment?" Flare grunted as he exerted himself.

"Considering at the moment you are exercising, I do not believe so. In the future, however, should you meet with the Atlesian council, I'm sure this information will do you wonders." Vier was sarcastic, knowing that regardless of whether or not he believed the government to be corrupt, Flare would treat them as such. History had proved that well enough.

"Well, I have a long day of training ahead of me Vier, so I'll let you get back to sifting the sand for a pearl, so to speak." Flare launched himself onto his feet, and began to walk out the door.

It had been like this for a week now, with Flare having received no specific instructions from any staff member. It had only taken him a day to memorize the school's layout, and he had been spending the rest of the time in one of the school's numerous gyms. He spent almost all the day training, not stopping for anything other than short breaks. His regime had increased in his newly opened free time, and he was planning on making every second count. Before he knew it, it was mid-evening when a certain blonde professor opened the door to the gym. She widened her eyes at the sight of him. In front of her was a man with rippled muscles on his back, and right arm. His left was more shocking, the mechanical replacement a very grey metal, covered in small spots of black, as if the metal had been scorched with a high heat. Flare was wearing the lower half of his armor, training his punches against a punching bag. Glynda quickly recovered from the sight.

"Mr Archid, I require your assistance in town. Would you please accompany me?" Not one to mince words, the strict blonde waited for his response.

"Of course Professor. Excuse me one moment." Flare stepped out, and returned thirty seconds later, completely clean, armor on and helmet in place. Glynda turned and walked out, leading the way as Flare followed her, scout rifle drawn as he walked. He had surmised that Glynda looked intimidating on her own, and Flare decided to add to that image.

"Mr Archid, I am running an errand for Professor Ozpin. He has instructed me to do this, and to bring you. However, I am not aware of what I am meant to do, only that it will be obvious when I arrive. He recommended that I bring you along, as long as you follow my orders. Is that clear?" Glynda was serious when she looked back at him, far more concerned than usual.

"Understood Professor." Flare replied simply, as they boarded the Bullhead that took them into town. They landed atop a rooftop, near a store. The two could hear gunfire and explosions. Flare jogged to the edge, looking down over the edge. On the street below, he could see Ruby in combat with a group of gangsters. Looking back, he noticed Glynda in a scroll call with Ozpin, her eyes closing as she listened.

"Vier, patch me into that communication." He subvocalized. Vier followed the order, and suddenly both Glynda and Ozpin were speaking in his helmet.

"Ozpin, Glynda, let me know if I am stepping in NOW." His voice took an incredibly different tone, one that he hadn't had to use in a very long time.

He saw Glynda's eyes widen, and even Ozpin struggled to conceal the surprise in his voice.

"Mr Archid, for now please stand back, and only get involved if Ms Rose is in serious danger." Ozpin had a reason, so Flare followed the order, holstering his scout rifle.

The two continued to watch the fight as it progressed from the street, to a lower rooftop just nearby. When the hostile entered the bullhead and threw a red dust crystal, Flare decided it was time to step in.

He blinked to Ruby, and threw her out of the way, as Glynda jumped to the rooftop. The explosion launched Flare backwards, but even as he flew through the air, Glynda caught him using her telekinesis. Dropping him, she turned, focusing her attention on the bullhead. Flare dropped through the air, blinking back to the roof. He fired his scout rifle, bullets hitting the bullhead, pockmarking the armor. With some slight jostling, the man switched with the pilot, who, due to the darkness, was almost impossible to make out any kind of definition to recognise. Flare opened fire on the new target, but she raised her hand, blocking the bullets and responding by firing out fireballs. Glynda cast a shield, blocking the fireballs, as they radiated heat on impact.

"Take Ruby, and get out of here!" Flare shouted at Glynda, before blinking back from a burst of flame. The ground began to screech as a series of runes appeared on the floor, exploding. Glynda grabbed Ruby and dove out of the way, and Flare blinked into the air, and concentrated. He held his hand out, and in his palm was a construct of solar-light, shaping a hand cannon. He leveled it, and fired it at the bullhead. A massive explosion hit the bullhead, which drifted off, somehow still in control. It flew into the night sky, and Flare landed, aiming down sight with his scout rifle.

"Negative range, Guardian." Vier spoke through the helmet speakers. Flare holstered the rifle, turning back to Ruby and Glynda.

Glynda motioned to him to remain silent, and he did so.

"Come along Ms Rose, we have some talking to do somewhere safer." Glynda was frowning, and she stared out towards the horizon, where the bullhead had flown off. "The nearby police station should have a free interview room for us to 'requisition'. Mr Archid, please wait here for further orders."

"Understood Professor." Flare's response was brief, and as he watched the two climb down from the roof, he received a communication.

"Mr Archid, I would appreciate your assistance in accompanying me as an armed escort. Please meet me at the shuttle dock that leads between Vale and Beacon. I will be there shortly." Ozpin was calm, as if he had foreseen what had happened. Flare acknowledged the order, and quickly began making his way over the rooftops towards the shuttle dock.

* * *

Ozpin walked out of the interview room alongside Glynda, who was currently on a scroll call with Taiyang. From the sounds of the call, Tai was not happy, not with Ruby or with Glynda, who even managed to look slightly chastised. Ozpin motioned for Flare to follow him out of the building, and Flare did so, keeping pace with the older man with ease.

"Mr Archid, you have shown great combat potential in the past week, in not only this incident, but also your entrance exam and your training. We have a second year team of students whose leader dropped out at the end of the last year, and as such, we were planning on disbanding the team. However, if you would allow it, I would like to place you as the leader of this team. Is this acceptable?" Ozpin looked at the guardian, his face it's typical mask of emotionlessness.

"Are you certain this is what you would like me to do Headmaster, sir? I'm not opposed to it, but is it fair to lie to my teammates? For all I know, I could be called back to combat offworld, and I would have to follow my orders. I will stay here for as long as possible, combating the creatures of darkness, but anything I do will have to be within the jurisdiction of the Vanguard, my superiors." Flare didn't want to just abandon a team, especially one that had been previously abandoned, but orders were orders.

"Mr Archid, I believe this to be the right path for you to take. I, admittedly, do not know much about the other threats that you speak of, but I can say that your decision is your own. I will respect it regardless of circumstance." Ozpin seemed perfectly calm as he spoke, and this threw Flare off. He was never one to trust easily, at least not someone who didn't show emotion like Ozpin, but he seemed to care about his students.

"Very well, sir, I will accept your offer. I hope to do the best I can in assisting you and the rest of Beacon, sir." Flare was careful with his wording, just in case he ended up being treated as some kind of mercenary. He fought to protect the light, not to actively harm it.

"Thank you, Mr Archid. The school year begins in a week. Please see to it that you are prepared, in both body and mind. You will still have to sit the initiation with the first years." With this, Ozpin bid Flare farewell, having flown from the shuttle dock to Beacon. Flare left his presence, headed to his now temporary dorm.

"Well, Vier, that was something." Flare laughed, the adrenaline finally wearing off. His right arm ached, the muscles sore from the recoil that the Golden Gun gave.

"Indeed, Guardian. It would appear that you finally get another team." Vier was surprised that Flare had accepted the offer, expecting the young guardian to have turned it down in order to work alone. Maybe forcing Flare to accept this mission had been the right decision. Either way, the guardian had evening training to do, and the ghost had a cover story to create. Both were bound for a long night.

* * *

 _Darkness. All she felt was the ever-consuming presence of darkness. She was supposed to be dead. What kind of darkness was this, that it did not consume her light, she wondered. It mattered not, for her answer to that question would not help her. She had thought her death to be painful, and even now the agony lingered, but without light, the darkness consumed her sight. So she lay there, in the infinite darkness, and waited. But she would not wait for long._

* * *

 **Once again, sorry about the delay in chapters. From now on, it'll be every week, so I can maintain a constant deadline to keep me writing. Procrastination'll be the death of me later. Please review, it can only help**

 **See you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	4. Chapter 4: Initiation

**A/N: Hey all, back again with a new chapter. Still around 3,500 words, because that seems to be my standard amount per chapter. Once we start getting into the meat of the story however, well, that'll be bigger, no doubt. Anyways, this chapter is kinda dialogue heavy, and considering that is by far my worst talent in writing, I hope this didn't come out to badly. Hope you enjoy, and please review, it can only help. As always; (Disclaimer: I own nothing)**

* * *

" _Shit, our way out is blocked by thralls. We don't have enough ammo for this! Casper, buddy, I need you to plot us a route out of here. Flare, keep up that sniper fire, keep them from sticking their heads out!"_

' _ROOOOAAAR!'_

" _A fucking OGRE! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! This was supposed to be routine, damnit! What happened to our backup, our intel, how did this slip past the Vanguard!? Flare, time for Gjallarhorn, I think. You keep them back, Casper and I'll take care of the front. We'll make it out of here, I'm sure. Wouldn't be the first time, hey!"_

* * *

Blinding sunlight shone through the window to the man, who stood, stretching. Flare had just woken up, and he was preparing for the students that would be arriving. He wasn't much of a social creature, and to socialize with people who had no idea that he was from a different planet was going to be a challenge.

Looking out the window, he could see the large airship in the distance, close to landing. Flare suited up, helmet off, and walked out of the dorm that was no longer his.

He was waiting at the front of the academy, as students piled out of the airship. He noticed the red-haired girl from his entrance exam, surrounded by people. The people he was waiting for walked out just behind a scrawny blond, who immediately rushed for the nearest trashcan.

"Morning Ruby, Yang. How you two doing?" Flare greeted them warmly, noting that Ozpin had no compunction with letting the younger girl attend the academy. Ruby rushed up to him, beaming, whilst Yang lazily followed her younger sister.

"HeyFlareit'sgoodtoseeyouhowareyou?" Ruby spoke at such a speed that Flare struggled to keep up. Vier quickly relayed the contents of her sentence to him through his mental link.

Shaking off the chill that ran down his spine with the mental link, Flare responded. "Woah there, chill out Rubes. I'm good. Just checking out the competition, so to speak."

Ruby nodded happily, practically jumping around in excitement, looking between all the weapons. "Sorry, I'm just nervous. I didn't get a chance to say thanks for helping me out the other night, by the way, so thanks."

"Well, I have some friends from Signal I want to catch up with, so I'll see you around Flare." Yang began to walk off, only to have Ruby cling to her side.

"Wait, where are you going? Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?" Ruby asked, as Yang pushed out of her grip, running off into the distance with her friends.

Flare just chuckled and ruffled her hair, as she looked around nervously.

"Relax Ruby, you'll do fine. It's not like you're going to explode." Flare couldn't help but smile at the younger girl's antics, as she slowly came to terms with the situation.

"You're right, Flare. I just gotta deal with it!" She spoke happily as she went to leave, and walked directly into a bright white luggage cart, knocking it all over. Flare winced, as she was sent sprawling in a cluster of suitcases and red.

"What are you doing!?" The girl in white shrieked at Ruby, who was apologising on the floor. Flare quickly tuned out what the girl in white was saying, her voice an agonising pitch. He was far too focused on the powdered dust that was floating in the air from the suitcase that the girl in white was holding, in particular the vial of red dust that she was wildly waving around.

"Wait, I think there might be a pr-" Flare was cut off as Ruby sneezed, detonating the volatile combination of dust that the girl in white had been flailing around. A loud explosion went off, firing shards of ice, bolts of electricity and plumes of fire and ash in all directions. The girl in white stumbled back, and Flare quickly caught Ruby, as she was sent flying backwards towards him. He looked between the two girls, both seemingly uninjured by the explosion.

'Must be aura at work, huh.' Flare thought to himself as he stepped between them. "Alright Ruby, princess, calm down, both of you." He said, as they stared daggers at each other, Ruby childishly pouting.

"It's heiress, actually." A new voice spoke from behind him, and he quickly turned to face them. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

The newly identified Weiss spoke up. "Finally, some recognition-"

Only to be interrupted by the raven-haired newcomer once again. "The same company infamous for it's controversial labour forces and questionable business partners."

Weiss was flustered, barely able to stammer out a sentence, before she gave up and grabbed a vial of dust from the newcomer's hand, and stormed off. Flare watched her walk off towards the main campus building.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" Ruby called out to the retreating figure. She turned back to Flare. "Guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day." She turned to the raven-haired girl, with a "So, what's-"

Flare turned to look at what stopped Ruby's sentence to notice the girl walking off in the other direction. Ruby sighed and flopped onto the ground. Flare kept watching the other girl. He had a feeling something was off about the girl. For someone who didn't introduce themselves, they were pretty good at introducing others, he surmised. He turned back to see Ruby being helped up off the ground by the scrawny kid with the new nickname 'Vomit Boy'.

"Hey, I'm Jaune." He said, as he picked her up off the ground.

"Ruby." She replied, as she accepted his help. "That's Flare." With the addition, she glared at Flare, who thought the glare was as threatening as a grumpy puppy. She then snorted, stifling laughter as she recalled who Jaune was. "Aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?"

"Look, motion sickness is a far more common problem than people let on!" He replied indignantly. Flare laughed, and Ruby went for the more diplomatic approach.

"Look, I'm sorry, Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind."

"Oh yeah, well what if I called you Crater Face." His comeback was effective, as Ruby replied grumpily.

"Hey, that explosion was an accident."

"Well the name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it." He said, as the three walked towards the central campus building. Flare laughed again, earning a glare from Jaune.

"Do they?" Ruby countered.

"They will! Or I hope they will. My mom always says that… eh, nevermind." Jaune sighed.

After about two seconds of awkward silence, Ruby piped up.

"So… I got this thing." She unlatched her weapon from her belt, deploying it into it's massive scythe form, planting the blade into the stonework at her feet.

"Woah!" Jaune stumbled back. "Is that a scythe?"

"It's also a customizable, high impact sniper rifle." Ruby replied.

"A wuh…?"

"It's also a gun."

Jaune 'oh-ed' in understanding. "That's cool!"

Ruby, interested in weapons like always, asked "So what've you got?"

"Oh, uh, I got this sword..." Jaune drew his blade from its sheath, the metal shining in the sunlight. Flare nodded in satisfaction at the care he put into maintaining the blade quality. "I, uh, got a shield too." He took the sheath off his belt, hooking his arm in and activating the mechanism that extended the edges into a kite shield.

"So what do they do?" Ruby asked, poking the shield. It sprung out of Jaune's grasp, and he fumbled with it for a moment before righting himself.

"Th-the shield gets smaller, heh, so when I get tired of carrying it I can just put it away." He said, returning it, in sheath form, to his belt.

"But wouldn't it weigh the same?" Ruby asked, confused.

"Yeah, it does." Jaune looked depressed.

"Heh, well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons. I guess I did go a little overboard in designing it." Ruby said, stroking the haft of her scythe like one would a pet.

"Wait, you made that?" Jaune exclaimed, surprised.

"Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn't you make yours?" Ruby asked, again confused.

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war." Jaune said, looking at the blade in his hand.

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me." Ruby said cheerily, trying to lighten up the mood. "Well I like it. Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

"Yeah, the classics." Jaune replied, as he sheathed it.

"So why'd you help me out back there, in the courtyard." Ruby asked.

"Eh, why not. My mom always says 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." Jaune said.

"Hey, where are we going?" Ruby asked, finally looking around.

"Oh, I don't know. I was following you." Jaune also looked around.

Flare just sighed loudly, grabbing their attention.

"Oh Flare, I almost forgot you were here!" Ruby said, guiltily.

"C'mon you two, follow me. We have an assembly to get to."

* * *

After Ozpin's speech, and a quick address from Glynda, the new students were dismissed. After some time passed, with a majority of the students just loitering about, they all made their way to the ballroom, where there were stacks of bedrolls on a table. Students were filtering in, grabbing bedrolls and claiming spots on the floor. The bathrooms had a massive line, as students used them as makeshift change rooms. Flare, unlike every other student, had no need for the change rooms. He quickly dematerialised his chestplate and gauntlets. He was about to lay claim to a spot on the floor when he heard a call.

"Hey, Flare! Over here, big guy!" Flare turned to see Yang motioning him over. He raised an eyebrow at her attire, but walked over.

"Evening Yang, Ruby. What's up?" He asked, noticing that, now that he was closer, neither girl could keep their eyes off of his mechanical limb. "Yo, Ear- _Remnant_ to you two? You alright?" This made them jump, both looking away, faces expressive with guilt.

"Relax, it's just a robot arm. Nothing too strange. I hope." He quickly looked around to see if anyone was looking at his arm. He noticed a few cute girls looking at him, but they blushed and looked away when he noticed them.

"Sorry Flare, just didn't expect it. I called you over so you could join our little sleepover here, cause we need a little eye-candy too you know. I can only work for so many people." Yang finished her sentence with a flourish, leaning over to accentuate her ample figure. Flare decided to have a bit of fun, and he stretched, muscles going taut as he raised his arms above and slightly behind his head. Yang, for her part, handled the show rather well, barely reacting. Two other people, however, struggled moreso with concealing their emotions. Ruby blushed heavily, burying her face in her pillow. The second person was a surprise, and Flare noticed that Weiss blushed heavier than Ruby, and her favourite color was red.

"Hey Weiss. What brings you to our little gathering?" Flare asked, curious why the snobby heiress had decided to venture into dangerous territory.

"For your information, I came over here to tell you all that some of us are trying to _sleep._ " Weiss replied, huffing out the last word. She folded her arms over her gown. Flare backed up a step as Yang noticed Weiss.

"OH NOT YOU AGAIN!" Both shouted at each other. Flare quickly motioned for them to be quiet, but the noise had attracted attention from a fourth person, who was sat, back against the wall, reading a book. The raven-haired girl from earlier that day. After a conversation, in which she introduced herself as Blake Belladonna, and another conversation between her and Ruby about books and heros, the five began to bed down for the night. Almost immediately, all the lights in the ballroom were snuffed out, save for the candle that Blake was holding. Noticing this, she quickly blew it out, plunging the ballroom into complete shadow.

* * *

 _She coughed up blood, and he bent down to grab her, lifting her onto his shoulder. She was cold to the touch, and her wounds were numerous and severe. Even as he carried her, however, she never stopped, firing her pistol into the endless swarm that pursued them as the ran deeper and deeper into the Hive._

" _Flare, drop me. Leave me here, I'm just going to get both of us killed at this rate. Please." She coughed up more blood as she spoke, splattering his white cloak a deep red._

" _I'm not leaving you here, damn it. Don't talk that way. We'll be fine, just keep firing." He gritted his teeth. Both of them lacked helmets, having been destroyed long ago. "We already lost Tyron, I'm not losing you too."_

" _I'm sorry, Flare. But I think you already have." She moaned, wounds leaking precious blood. Her pulse was drastically slow, and Flare took cover quickly, placing her down._

" _No Aya. I'm not losing you." He said, forehead pressed up against hers. She looked at him, pale blue eyes meeting his vibrant green._

" _Sorry, Flare. Goodbye." She whispered, barely audible._

" _Aya? Aya!?" He shook her. But there was no response._

* * *

The morning was eventful, to say the least. With easily one hundred students clamouring for the bathrooms and breakfast, it was certainly busy. When Flare was at the tower, he would wake early from sleep, usually to train. This was not the Tower, and this was not a normal day. Flare excused himself from Ruby and Yang, saying he probably wouldn't see them during the initiation. Flare walked out, prepping his gear as he walked towards where he had been told the initiation was to be held. According to Ozpin, he would deploy first, with his mission to obtain a special one-of-a-kind relic that was in the ruins. His job was to eradicate any particularly difficult grimm before the first years would deploy, so as not to prove to be so difficult.

What he hadn't expected was to be launched off a cliffside by a catapulting platform built flush with the ground. That threw him off, both mentally and physically. He laughed at the thought, even as he flew through the air. This wasn't the first time he had freefallen, though. Hardly. According to Vier, Flare spent at least five percent of missions falling. So it was safe to assume he could handle a small drop into a forest.

Quickly activating the thrusters in his boots, he slowed down in the air, directing himself towards a nearby tree branch. He stuck the landing, eyes on his motion sensor, and he drew his scout rifle. Ammo conservation was a must, so he needed to be accurate. He didn't care what people said about automatic rifles, they spent far too many bullets for individual targets. He dropped out of the tree, orienting himself towards the direction of the ruins, and set off.

He moved at a fast pace, and few grimm kept up with him. The ones that did were quickly dissuaded from doing so with a pinpoint gunshot, blowing chunks of red and black gore across trees and grass, where it began to immediately dissolve in the air. Soon, he was, according to Vier, three quarters of the way to the relics, when he came across a large clearing. He slowed down as he noticed a big black and white mass at one side. Shouldering his scout rifle, he began a cautious approach.

The mass reacted instantly, sensing his approach. It turned, it's boulder-like shoulders connected to tree-trunk limbs, connected to massive fists. It beat its chest, and roared, the sound echoing throughout the forest.

"Guardian, the data I have read designates this as a Beringel. It appears to be similar to a gorilla, if a gorilla was giant and evil." Vier had appeared next to Flare, even as the Beringel charged.

"Alright, this guy looks like a challenge. Vier, pick a song." The guardian opened fire as he spoke, rifle rounds burying into the Beringel's joints.

"What kind of song, Guardian?" Vier queried, as Flare dodged beneath a massive powerhouse of a swing, even as he drew his shotgun.

"Something… fun." Flare replied, blinking behind the giant grimm.

* * *

In a battle of attrition against the grimm powerhouse, Flare would lose miserably. It was a good thing this wasn't a battle of attrition.

Flare dodged beneath a swing, firing his shotgun at the underneath of the arm. The Beringel stumbled back, the blast propelling it's arm upwards, knocking it backwards. With a quick blink, Flare was behind the stumbling monster, and a second shotgun blast sent the Beringel spinning forwards. It's arm collided with Flare, who attempted to block it. Flare was sent flying, colliding with a tree at the edge with of the clearing. The trunk shattered as he was sent through it, splinters being flung in all directions.

He sat up, dazed as the Beringel charged him. He quickly blinked out of the way of a heavy strike, which sent a shockwave blasting out from it's impact. Still dazed, along with the shockwave, Flare stumbled as he landed out of the blink, attempting to grasp his surroundings. The Beringel sprinted towards Flare, arms above it's head, fists together. Flare darted backwards as the Beringel swung downwards, breaking the ground into massive chunks of dirt and stone, shrapnel flying in all directions. The resulting force launched Flare into the air, and he quickly threw a grenade, it's solar energy splitting into homing parts, all detonating around the Beringel.

The Beringel was pissed. First it had to deal with shotgun blasts, and the guardian disappearing, and now it was being scorched. It roared, enraged, but it was cut off as Flare crammed the barrel of Gjallarhorn in it's mouth and pulled the trigger.

A muffled boom was heard for a split second, before the Beringel exploded, chunks of red and black splattering the shattered ground as the ruined carcass stumbled around, nerves firing as the corpse ceased existence. Flare stood up from where the blast had knocked him, and slung Gjallarhorn over his shoulder.

"That went well." He said, as Vier materialised next to him.

"Guardian, why didn't you lead of with that?" Vier asked, as his rear components rotated.

Flare looked at his little light, and tilted his helmet. "Well then it wouldn't be fun, would it?"

Vier just sighed, dematerialising.

* * *

After a long trek without much interruption, save for the occasional ursa or cluster of beowolves, Flare arrived at the ruins, where he found a series of pedestals with chess pieces upon them.

"It really is interesting how chess, and other earthen traits seem to have crossed the universe. Is this an indicator of the origin of Remnant's humans, or something intrinsically linked into the human psyche. Fascinating." Vier was floating about the pieces, investigating them.

"Alright, enough philosophy, or psychology, or whatever it is. We've got an objective. My head has enough thoughts for myself, no need for you to add to that." Flare walked over, and noticed a single golden pawn sitting in the very center of the ruin, on the ground. Flare picked it up, rotating it in his hand, revealing that the side he hadn't seen was black, smoothly blending into the gold.

"The lone pawn, huh. Something something noble sacrifice, right?" Flare said, looking at Vier, who floated around the pawn, staring at it intently.

"It would appear that this pawn is meant for us, Guardian. Shall we move on?" Vier asked, looking up at his guardian. Flare nodded, quickly stowing the relic in his inventory, both it and Vier dematerialising.

Another uneventful trek back, filled with ursa and only a couple beowolves, along with an alpha, and Flare was at the launchpad. Both Ozpin and Glynda were stood there, a series of holographic screens in front of them, and Flare noted the destruction of his Beringel fight was on one of the screens, before it they were quickly dismissed.

"Well done, Mr Archid. The Beringel, the beast you fought, is an elite grimm. Honestly, something like that was unexpected, and usually requires a team of skilled second years to exterminate. Your ability to do so in such a short time is impressive. Your weapons are also rather powerful, for the Beringel is known for it's physical resistance. Well done." Ozpin said, sipping coffee from his mug between each sentence.

"After the first years go through initiation, there will be a ceremony dictating teams and team leaders. You will take place in this ceremony, so I expect you to be there and be prepared. That is when you will meet your new team, and I suggest you prepare for that as well. You will need to remove your helmet for the ceremony as well." Glynda said, even as she glanced between a clipboard she was carrying, and a holographic monitor that had appeared next to her.

"Thank you, professors. Here is the relic. Good luck wrangling the first years." Flare said as he passed the relic, then walked away, waving his hand.

Ozpin just smirked slightly, his face almost unreadable. Glynda harrumphed, obviously believing that there were no first years that were not intimidated by her.

"Ozpin, do you believe that the single pawn was a good choice for him?" Glynda asked as Flare was out of earshot. She looked at Ozpin, a genuinely curious expression on her usually strict face.

"Only time will tell, my dear. A Promotion would be beneficial." Ozpin said, sipping from his mug.

* * *

 **Well, that fight was a little lackluster, in my opinion. I contemplated putting in what song Flare had play, but inevitably decided against it, as it drew a little from the scene. Pick whatever you think suits the fight. I had a few ideas, but all of them kinda just didn't fit. Anyways, I must ask you all to review if you want, always helps me out.  
**

 **See you next chapter (FUCK MY SCHEDULE, I'LL UPLOAD WHENEVER I WANT, WOO MORE UPDATES)  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	5. Chapter 5: Flight

**A/N: Hey all, back with the 5th chapter now, christ. This has turned from a whim to an actual project now, with the "world's most improvised plot ever." Seriously, I went into this with no plot idea whatsoever, and have been making it up on the spot. You know, you would think there was a plan, considering the little hints I've laid into it, but nope. Kinda have some ideas, and at least somewhat of a way to tie it together, but who knows. Maybe it'll fail miserably and turn into an absolute shitshow. Eh. Fair warning about this chapter, it introduces the OC second year team that Flare'll take leadership of, and I've taken some creative liberties with how the classes in Beacon work, because why not.** **As usual; (Disclaimer: I own nothing)**

* * *

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester." Ozpin spoke to the four boys that stood on the stage, as they were applauded.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR." Ozpin said, as Nora hugged Ren. "Led by... Jaune Arc." Ozpin finished.

"Huh? L-Led by...?" Jaune muttered, confused. Ozpin congratulated him, and Pyrrha bumped his shoulder with her own, knocking the unfortunate leader to the ground. The audience laughed, and Pyrrha gasped.

Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by… Ruby Rose." Ozpin addressed the four girls, of which Weiss looked surprised, Ruby looked shocked, Blake looked passive, and Yang hugged her sister.

"I'm so proud of you sis!" Yang said, squeezing her sister.

"Finally, there is one last thing to address. A new second year student will be joining us. Flare Archid. You retrieved the single pawn. From this day forward, you will work with Lillith Wrath, Iren Roust, and Tera Verdant, as a part of Team FLIT (Flight). Led by… Flare Archid." Ozpin looked to the crowd, as Flare and his new team stood on the stage.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an interesting year." He said, half to himself.

* * *

"So, tell me why the fuck we are getting a new guy, and why the fuck is he our LEADER!" Tera shouted.

Tera was a short girl, about 5'9", with bright green hair in a long braid with the ends tipped in gold, a fair complexion, and pale green eyes. She wore a long mint green coat, with a brown leather shoulder-cropped top underneath, along with deep green combat pants. Over her shoulder was slung a quiver, currently empty, and to each hip was a small dagger.

"Calm down Tera. You haven't said a word to him yet, you've been ignoring him. How can you make a decision on him without any prior evidence?" Iren asked her, a look of consternation on his face.

He was a broad set guy, covered in a heavy plate armor, coloured in a deep orange, reddish-brown and silvered metal, all blending into each other. He stood at 6'9", tall but not as tall as the second year that Yang had fought in the acceptance exam. He had auburn hair, shaggy but short, and brown eyes along with his pale complexion. Over his back was a massive sheath, holding a very plain looking greatsword.

The two were leading the way from the assembly to the cafeteria, where they had planned to pick up dinner, before headed to the second year dorms for their new dorm room.

"Sorry about her, Flare. She is still kinda pissed about our previous leader practically ditching us. He wasn't a great person to begin with, guy was a massive racist, but he was still our leader." Lillith said, looking at Flare, who just smiled and nodded, understanding.

Lillith stood at 5'7", even shorter than Tera. Her hair was a very dark purple, in a high ponytail, reaching most of the way down her back. She was pale, and had pale purple eyes. She wore a short top that ended just above her midriff, coloured in a deep purple with golden highlights, with a small purple hood attached. She had two silver belts that crisscrossed over her long black pants. Each belt had a holster, with a pistol in each, one silver with purple highlights, and one purple with silver highlights. The back of her belt was a small purple cape, reaching down to the back of her knees.

"It's alright, honestly. I understand what it's like to just be plonked down into a new situation, and my being leader is quite a big pill to swallow. I'll try my best though, owe you guys that much already." Flare said, nodding towards the other partnership that comprised half of team FLIT.

"Well, _new partner_ , we'd better get to know each other pretty fast, cause second years kinda have missions to go on, apparently." Lillith said, poking Flare when she pointed out that he was her new partner.

Flare just smiled, and bumped into a very angry Tera, who had turned around to face him, much to Iren's annoyance.

"So why the hell are you suddenly promoted team leader, huh? I bet you can't even fight that well, just got bumped there cause it was easier on the team name or some shit. Lillith would've been a much better choice, cause, I mean, look at her!" Tera looked at Lillith, who just sighed and shook her head.

"The reason I was placed as team leader was because your previous team leader left, and I have previous experience with leading teams." Flare said, not willing to be drawn in by her very obvious verbal bait. She wasn't willing to let it go, however.

"So you can't fight, huh. Shame we have such a hopeless team leader then." She said, very obviously attempting to make him snap.

"Look Tera, if you want to spar, just ask." Flare said, trying to make the aggressive girl understand that he could fight, but he wasn't going to just start one for the sake of proving himself. As far as he knew, he had nothing to prove.

"Well then, asshole, come and fight me, right here, right now!" Tera was practically shouting now.

"Enough Tera. If you want to spar, we'll go to one of the training halls." Lillith spoke up, and Iren grabbed Tera by the collar, dragging her towards one of the halls. Lillith looked at Flare. "Sorry, but if you don't fight her she won't shut up for the next three years, and that'd be hell. Can you please fight her?"

Flare nodded, and together he and Lillith followed the sounds of fists smacking against metal plating as Iren dragged Tera into the hall.

* * *

Flare had geared up, helmet on, weapons at his side, ready. Tera, on the other side of the field, had her dagger's connected together, forming a longbow. She had grabbed her arrows from the locker room, filling her quiver.

"Alright, rules are simple. First person to be knocked out of the ring or have their aura dropped into the red loses. Got it?" Lillith asked, looking between the two combatants.

Both fighters nodded. Lillith glanced at Flare's aura meter, noticing it flickering. She shrugged it off as a glitch, and it quickly stabilised.

"Alright. 3. 2. 1. Begin!"

With this, Tera quickly fired an arrow, to test Flare's reaction time. What surprised her was when he practically disappeared, her arrow thudding into the ground where he had been standing. She quickly turned around, bow splitting into daggers as she blocked a strike from one of Flare's knives. He quickly flipped backwards, before throwing a knife at her. Her eyes changed to a golden color, emitting a golden glow. She quickly dodged the knife, with almost inhuman reactions, before her eyes stopped glowing. She leaped towards Flare, daggers in a reverse grip. She slammed her blades downwards in order to slam down onto him, but he drew another knife, redirecting the slam with a careful slice. She struck the ground, before quickly striking out with her leg in a low spinning kick, attempting to clip his legs. He quickly began a series of flips backwards, getting some distance from the now bow wielding girl. She fired a volley of arrows at him, all of which he blocked with his knives. He sheathed his right knife, and drew Fatebringer, bringing it up to bear at the now wary girl. A single shot was fired, just as her eyes changed to gold. With a very impressive bend, she dodged the bullet, which hit the ground behind her, spraying up chunks of concrete as the high caliber round penetrated. Her eyes stayed gold this time as she fired a second volley of arrows, this time in a different pattern and timeframe. Flare quickly tried to block them with his knife, only to find that they were slipping past his defenses. She had fired five arrows, and he blocked the first two, only to be hit by the third and fourth, before he blinked out of the way of the fifth.

There was a single lull in the combat as both fighters regained their bearings, then they both began fire their weapons at each other, Tera's eyes golden. Each arrow fired hit a bullet as they continued to repel each other's shots over the course of a few seconds, before Flare had to quickly reload. He popped out the magazine, quickly rolling sideways, even as he drew another ammo drum, inserting it into the hand cannon, as he exited the roll. With a quick slash of his knife he blocked another arrow, lifted the hand cannon, and fired another barrage of shots. More arrows were shot out of the air as the two combatants precise shots hit each other. Flare quickly holstered the hand cannon, using his knife to parry the arrows as he summoned the golden gun in his now empty hand, before he aimed and fired a shot, completely disintegrating an arrow as the supercharged solar bullet maintained its course, but she dodged like previous, the bullet hitting the ground just behind her, exploding in a puff of heat. She flinched from the heat, flipping forwards as the second supercharged shot hit just next to her. The third and final shot just whizzed past her head as she ducked. She split her bow, almost out of arrows, and charged in to engage Flare in melee. Having dispelled the golden gun, he sheathed his knife, standing there unarmed in preparation. She sprinted towards him, body low, daggers in reverse grip, before she slashed at him. He jumped back just out of the way of the slash, before she quickly changed up her follow through, an uppercut to his chin connecting with his hand as he grabbed her clenched fist, before he threw it to the side, stepping in close to disarm. She reacted instantly, throwing up her leg in attempt to push him back. He sidestepped it, and she brought it back down in an axe kick. He took the hit, grabbing her leg. He lifted, flipping her upwards and onto her back. She landed, and before Flare could attack again, she slapped the ground with her hands, lifting herself up off the ground, hooking her legs beneath her to support her. In the instant her legs were beneath her, she pushed down with all four limbs, propelling her back into a standing position, directly into the path of Flare's shotgun, Conspiracy Theory-D. She reacted in another instant, eyes still gold, and slapped the barrel to the side, the trigger being depressed and the barrel ejecting powerful buckshot into the ground next to her.

Following up from the slap, she grabbed the shotgun, pulling Flare in towards her as she went to strike with her dagger, only to have her arm grabbed, preventing the strike from continuing. The two new teammates stood there, locked in a standstill, for a split-second.

"Tera is in the red. Flare wins!" Lillith called out, and a surprised Tera let go of the shotgun, as Flare let go of her hand. She slumped to the ground, realising that she was absolutely exhausted. She glanced at the monitor above the arena, noticing her aura in the red, and Flare's missing only a sliver from her arrows. 'He is so much stronger than me.' She thought, willing herself never to admit that to him. Last thing she wanted him to think was that she accepted him.

"Well fought Tera." She heard Flare say, as he held out a hand to her. She looked at his hand for a moment, considering whether or not to take the proffered olive branch. He'd proved himself, that was for sure. She wasn't about to gush over him like some lovestruck schoolgirl, but she'd at least try and be a little more accepting. He still had a long way to go to earn her trust, but this was a decent start. She took his hand, and he helped her to her feet, before deftly flicking her other dagger into his other hand with his foot. He flipped it in his hand, so that he was holding it out to her by the blade. She took the handle, and sheathed it in her belt.

"Well Flare, I gotta say, you can fight. I'm still not sure about you, but you sure can fight." She said, walking off towards her partner. Iren, for his part, waved and gave Flare a thumbs-up, before joining his partner as they headed out the door.

"Iren's going with Tera to get food. We, Mr Skilled-Fighter, are going to go investigate our new dorm. C'mon." Lillith said, poking her new partner as she said the latest nickname. Flare just laughed as they began walking.

* * *

"So, how'd you do that disappearing thing? And that golden pistol thingy? Is that your semblance, or something?" Lillith asked as the walked towards the second year dorms.

"Or something, yeah." Flare answered, not willing to reveal any more than he had. He had already gotten far too interested in the fight, and revealed some things he kinda wanted to keep hidden. He'd have to come up with an excuse for that later.

Lillith frowned at his answer, but knew not to push any further. She knew everyone was entitled to their own secrets, she was just trying to get to know her new partner.

"So, what about you, Lillith. Do you want to tell me your semblance?" Flare asked, trying, like she was, to make conversation. Turns out neither were very good.

"I'd… rather not talk about my semblance. I don't use it." She said, looking down at the ground.

"I understand. If you don't want to tell me you shouldn't feel that you have to." He said, nodding in understanding.

"Look, Flare, I'm not a great conversationalist. I'd honestly rather talk about weapons, but considering that no one is ever interested, I kinda just don't talk much. I'm not exactly a social butterfly." She said, looking around nervously.

"Well, I know a first year who you would absolutely fit in with without a doubt." Flare said, laughing. Ruby would kill to have a friend to talk weapons with, especially a second year. "So, what weapons do you use?" He asked.

Lillith perked up, happy to have a topic she loved as the topic of conversation. "These are my pistols, Problem, the purple one, and Solution, the silver one. They are chambered in .45 ACP Dust rounds. They also-" She flicked a small switch on each, and they transformed. "Transform into these half chakrams. Useful for cutting things." She smiled as she looked at her weapons. "I built them myself, like a majority of huntsman and huntresses do. What about yours?"

"Mine aren't anything special, necessarily. I found them, killed a bunch of darkn- grimm to get them. I've been meaning to build my own, so I don't have to keep using these." Flare said

"Well, I could help you design your new weapons! I'd love to help, considering your my new partner and all." She was practically jumping for joy.

Flare smiled at her. "You'll have to get along with a fellow designer, though. That girl I was talking about made the same offer."

"Honestly, the more the merrier. Always use a fresh opinion on weaponry. When do you want to do it?" Lillith was excited, almost ready to go now.

"Calm down, Lillith. Let's take care of the dorm room first, huh? I'll work on some sketches before we even consider working on it, and hell, I'm not even sure what I want to do with it." Flare chuckled as he walked, his smaller excitable partner slumping as she realised she had let her excitement get the better of her.

They walked for a few more minutes, before they reached a small archway. Crossing under the threshold, they walked into a big open room. The room was split into three smaller sections. A kitchen, a lounge, and a room with a series of desks. At the end was a door. Lillith walked over to the door, and opened it, revealing a room with four beds, and three other doors. Flare followed Lillith into the bedroom, and she opened the doors. Two were closets, and the third was a small ensuite.

"This is certainly nicer than my previous place." Flare said, as Lillith whistled.

"Mmhmm. Definitely better than the first-year dorms. We got our own kitchen and lounge!" Lillith looked excited, and Flare couldn't help but agree with her sentiments.

Both Flare and Lillith turned around as they heard footsteps. They turned around to see Iren and Tera walking in, Iren with a plate of pancakes. Flare quirked an eyebrow at the pancakes.

"There was a bunch of first years in the cafeteria, and all there was was pancakes being made. Don't know how, or why. But hey, everyone likes pancakes." Iren replied to his expression. He set down the plate on the kitchen's bench.

"So, this is our place, huh?" Tera asked. "Certainly better than the first year dorms."

"That's what I said!" Lillith exclaimed.

Iren just laughed, as he grabbed a couple plates from a cupboard. Serving up the pancakes, he passed the plates around. The newly formed team sat at the desks, eating in amicable silence. The evening passed, and the team began to get ready to go to sleep, after claiming beds.

Flare was the last one awake.

"Thanks for faking the aura levels, Vier." Flare whispered to his eternal companion. He stood up, and entered the bedroom, quickly walking over to his bed.

"You are most welcome, Guardian." Vier said, as his guardian fell asleep.

* * *

The first class of the day had been agony. Listening to Professor Port's tales had been painful to say the least, but the fact that Flare was determined to at least figure out if there was _any_ meaning behind the story, meant that he had to analyse the story for hidden messages. There were no hidden messages. Flare resolved to never listen to that man again. Ever. Apparently he taught first years too, as the rest of FLIT was already zoned out before the lesson even began.

The second class had actually been interesting. A split class of first and second years had filtered in, and Flare had noticed the bunny girl from his entrance exam was in the class, along with RWBY and JNPR. He sat up at the back of the classroom, listening to what the professor, Doctor Oobleck, had to say. History was, unlike Grimm Studies, an interesting subject taught by a competent, if not hyper-active, teacher. Vier was listening with intense fascination, comparing the Doctor's information to information he had access to from the CCT network. Flare was thankful for his AI companion's enhanced note-taking ability. His team would be, too, when it came down to it.

Lunch followed the second class, which in itself was uneventful. All the students seem to be getting used to their new schedule, so most interaction was kept to a minimal. Tera did try to pick a fight with a third year, only to be dragged off by Iren. Flare was thankful for the placid man, because without him he could only imagine the horror of having to prevent Tera from declaring war with Professor Goodwitch. That girl would fight anyone.

The third class was combat class for both first and second years. None of FLIT had been called up, so Flare spent the time looking at the fighter's weapons. He had a few ideas for his own.

The fourth class was what interested him the most, for the same reason it absolutely captured Lillith's love. Advanced Weaponry. It was an elective course that both Flare and Lillith had picked.

The two new partners walked into the classroom, only to find a series of workshop desks, with a larger workshop desk at the front of the room. Flare assumed the instructor would use that desk, and he was right, because the moment the two of them walked in an old man stood up from behind the desk.

He had buzzcut grey hair, and hazel eyes. His skin was dark, and he wore a simple grey button-up shirt behind a ragged leather apron. He had long grey pants, and heavy black boots. He looked at the two newcomers to his class.

"Welcome, you two. This is Advanced Weaponry. I assume you are here because you picked the elective?" The man said, his voice deep. He had a lively look in his eye, he didn't look like someone who got bored easily.

Flare nodded in response, before being tackled to the ground.

"Hey Flare, what are you doing here?" The crimson reaper had hug-tackled him to the ground, excited to see him at what she assumed was a class that only a few people would be interested in.

"Ow." Flare replied, concise as always.

"Oh, sorry." Ruby jumped back up, finally noticing Lillith. Flare stood back up.

"Ruby, this is my partner Lillith. Lillith, this is my friend Ruby." Flare introduced the two to each other, who both promptly drew their weapons and showed them off to each other. Flare was practically pushed aside as the two quickly became friends, gushing to each other over their craftsmanship.

The class was relatively simple, as Flare had two weapon-nut friends _and_ Vier to assist him. The teacher, Professor Wright, came to an understanding when Flare explained that he wanted to attempt to make a weapon for himself, and that the weapons he had were not made by him. The professor agreed to teach Flare the basics of planning and blueprint sketching, and from there Flare would continue himself.

The class was less about personal weaponry and more about weapon theory in general, and included a bunch of anecdotes about experimental weaponry gone wrong, of which some were rather funny, and others downright horrifying. The professor was not one to omit details, and so Ruby had to duck out of the room in the middle of the professor's story about how a misfired railgun had blown an Atlesian scientist through a solid metal wall, which pulverised said scientist. Even Flare blanched at the gory detail the professor got into. Something about comparing human guts to strawberry jam made him lose his appetite.

That evening had been rather uneventful, with his three teammates absolutely exhausted from the heavy amount of homework that had been assigned, Tera saying 'Professor Peach is still a right bitch.'

Flare was still awake, sat at a desk. He was sketching a rough plan for his weapon.

"Flare, what could you possibly need that design for?" Vier asked through the mental link.

"In case the situation ever arises that I need it." Flare replied, smirking as he sketched. After half an hour, he called it quits, putting away the sketch. ' _Just need some really good materials, and then I should be good. Maybe I should see about that engram.'_ He thought as he went to bed, ready for another long day. Maybe he'd get to actually fight in combat class, for once.

* * *

The shadowy warehouse was, by far, the most cliche, stereotypical hideout he had ever used. It was the epitome of 'It's so stupid, it couldn't possibly be true.' That made it, opposite of what one might expect, a perfect hideout. Besides, what better place to hide shipping containers of stolen goods then amongst other shipping containers. He ended his call with his employer. Agony to talk to, but so much worse in person. He hoped he could maintain the long-distance relationship, so much easier than in-person. He looked around the warehouse, and took stock of his crew.

"We're going to need more men."

* * *

 **The introduction to Team FLIT, everyone. I came up with the names a while back, messing around with a few squads in XCOM 2. The four suddenly became my top soldiers in that campaign, and the four letters just happened to spell out FLIT by pure chance. That was a stroke of luck on my part. Yes, they already have semblances planned out, I'm not winging it that much. Other than that, if anyone thinks they figured it out, by all means, tell me. I'd love to hear guesses and theories, could always use them in future chapters or other fics. Please review, it can only help.**

 **Thanks GateMaster31 for the review, I'm planning on detailing Flare's armor when it comes up in the story. That might even have a surprise reveal in the form of a weapon? Who knows.**

 **Thanks, and see you next chapter (Before the 28th, most likely. I know, schedules. I'm impatient.)  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	6. Chapter 6: Solutions

**A/N: Hey all, sorry about the late post. A series of events led to me not having as much free time as I needed to write, but to make up for the failure to stick to a schedule we have a much longer chapter than usual, like holy crap, near 8k words. Other than that, thanks all for the follows and favs, seriously, never expected that tbh. And, as always; (Disclaimer: I own nothing)**

* * *

"Guardian, we have come to a decision about your deployment on Remnant, as you called it. You are now operating as a Vanguard agent, and only answer directly to us. However, you are a free agent, and we will no longer provide orders to you, other than to continue to protect those of the light. Good luck, Guardian. Vanguard out."

Flare began walking towards the main campus building, having finished his communication in the privacy of the early morning courtyard, which, unsurprisingly, was completely devoid of students. He was headed to Ozpin's office, having been summoned to have a conversation with the unreadable headmaster. He stood in the elevator, watching the number tick up on the display. With a ding, the door opened, revealing the clockwork office, with the door open. Flare stepped through, noticing that not just Ozpin and Glynda were inside. Standing next to the desk were the teachers of Beacon. Professor Port, Doctor Oobleck, Professor Wright, and another professor that he didn't know, who Ozpin promptly introduced as Professor Peach.

"Mr Archid, thank you for coming. I believe it is time to introduce my staff to your rather unique situation." Ozpin said, cup of coffee in hand as always.

Flare nodded. "Professors, _Doctor_ , there is someone you all need to meet. Please ask him any questions you have about what he is about to say." He waved his hand, and Vier materialised.

Varying gasps and exclamations of shock and surprise followed, as the professors all took a step back.

"Hello. My name is Vier, personal Ghost of the guardian, Flare Archid." He introduced himself, and then almost immediately was bombarded with questions, mostly from Oobleck.

"Vier, if you would, tell them everything you told Ozpin, and answer any questions they have, please?" Flare asked his companion, who 'nodded' and turned back to the entranced crowd of curious teachers. He began to explain, and Flare turned back to Ozpin, who was smiling behind his mug. "I have an errand to run, more important than the classes today. My apologies, Professor Glynda, no offense. Could someone inform my team, please?" He asked, before quickly heading out of the room before anyone could stop him. He took the elevator down, walked to the shuttle bay, and caught a shuttle to Vale.

Once in Vale, he grabbed his Sparrow, which was still in it's little parking space, next to Yang's bike. He hopped aboard, and began the trip to Vale's airfield. He promptly bought a ticket with some of the Lien he had been given by Ozpin, and he stowed the Sparrow aboard. He settled in the seats for the six hour flight, and fell asleep.

* * *

Patch was almost exactly the same as it had been when he left, which had been almost three weeks ago now. He already knew that Tai had started taking Huntsman jobs again, and as such he did not stop by the Xiao Long household. Instead, he drove his sparrow into the wilderness. After an hour of travel from the airfield on Patch, he arrived at a small clearing, devoid of both Grimm and snow. For that he was thankful, without Vier with him he had no way of materialising anything. He approached his ship, still in the same condition as how he'd left it.

"Hey there, girl. Miss me?" He asked the ship. He got no response, unsurprisingly. With a quick series of commands, he opened the rear hatch to the ship, parking the sparrow in the cargo bay. He shut the rear hatch, and walked into the cockpit.

After a few seconds, he could feel the familiar hum of the thrusters warming up, and a few more seconds of brief pre-flight check-up, the craft lifted off the ground, engines gently pulsating energy. It took him nearly two minutes to engage the very temperamental cloaking technology that he had 'borrowed' from Cayde-6. Once the cloaking was engaged, he began to take off. The airship had been six hours of boredom and sparse sleep. This would be a half-hour, at most. He gunned the throttle, and the thrusters pulsed, energy propelling Flare and his craft at speeds unrivaled by any aircraft on Remnant. Flare laughed at the thought of performing a flyby of Atlas, but inevitably decided against what would be both a reckless and terrible idea. Funny, but terrible. The cloaking system was still working, and it was a straight shot to Beacon, so Flare swiveled his pilot seat to a terminal next to it. He pulled up a communication screen, and with a bit of fiddling, he managed to find the scroll signal of Ozpin's personal scroll. He initiated a call.

"Whoever you are, I must ask how you managed to get a hold of this device." Ozpin said, voice slightly robotic, the CCT signal slightly weak over the open water.

"Relax Professor. It's Flare. I was wondering if you had a secret underground facility or something that I could hide a spaceship." Flare deadpanned, waiting for a response. He got a response, but it wasn't what he was expecting.

"Ah, Mr Archid. I do, in fact, have such a facility. If you fly your craft to the base of the cliff, there will be an entrance for you. How long will it be before you arrive, and are you able to keep your presence hidden?" Ozpin asked, and Flare could hear him sipping his coffee.

"I'll be there in roughly twenty minutes, Professor. I'm cloaked, so no unwanted eyes on, sir." Flare replied, quickly correcting his course.

"I will see you then, Mr Archid. Do enjoy your flight." Ozpin said, ending the communication.

Flare smiled, and sat back in his chair. He flicked through the terminal, before settling on a song.

The craft, invisible to the naked eye, flew through the sky, unheeded by the planet's gravity.

Now Playing: Fire - Kasabian

* * *

Flare hovered his ship near the base of the cliff, upon which Beacon sat. He waited for a moment, having only just arrived, before a massive chunk of the rock retracted, sliding open and revealing a massive hangar. He quickly piloted his craft inside, the hidden door closing behind him.

The ship touched down, and Flare stepped off the boarding ramp. The hangar was massive, arching into the inside of the cliff, all smooth metal and polished stone. This had been here longer than Flare had lived, that was for certain.

"Hello Mr Archid. I must say, you have a magnificent ship." Ozpin addressed Flare, who was walking towards him.

"Thank you, sir. You have a great hangar." Flare quipped, as he stretched.

Ozpin chuckled, his mug sloshing with the coffee inside. "Come with me. Mr Archid. Your partner has been hounding me all day as to where you disappeared to."

Flare followed Ozpin as he led him to an elevator, on the far of the hangar. The two walked in amicable silence, and opened the door. They walked inside, the older man pressing the button for his office.

A moment later, and the door slid open, revealing both Vier and Glynda, deep in conversation, Vier projecting a small holographic map onto the table. Flare noticed the distinct shape of the Tower.

Vier looked up from the conversation. "Oh, hello Guardian. How was your flight?"

"It was fine, Vier. How was the story-telling?" Flare asked, taking his helmet off.

"The professors were more than happy to listen to me as I explained the intricacies of the Traveller, and other details." Vier hovered about, and Glynda backed away from the desk, pulling Ozpin aside for a private talk. Flare gave a small flourish with his hand, and Vier dematerialised. Flare nodded at the two, before walking out of the office and into the elevator.

Exiting the elevator, Flare began walking towards the cafeteria, hungry for some late lunch. Inside was the still awkward leader of Team JNPR, who was getting a late snack. He looked knackered, barely standing.

"Hey, Jaune. You look dead on your feet. What happened to you?" Flare asked, grabbing a tray. He began to grab a few choice foods from the table.

"Huh? Oh, hey there Flare. Combat class against Cardin. I'm still recovering." He blinked, noticing that his fellow new team leader had eaten almost all of his meal in only a few seconds.

"Are you gonna eat that? I'm famished." Flare asked, pointing at the half-eaten sandwich in Jaune's hand.

"Uh, yeah, sorry." Jaune replied, quickly following up with a small bite.

"Nah, it's fine. I'll just get more." Flare stood up, grabbing a second load of food. The doors at the end of the cafeteria opened, and in walked a sweat drenched Iren. He waved weakly at the pair, and wandered over.

"Hey there Flare. Where were you today? Ozpin told us you had an errand to run, and then you were gone for the whole day." Iren grabbed a tray and started loading food onto it.

"Sorry about that, Iren. I had some private business to tend too before I fully invested myself in Beacon. Shouldn't happen again." Flare said, motioning for his tired teammate to sit with him and Jaune. Iren did so, plonking himself down on the other side of Flare.

"Sorry about the sweat, man. Just got back from training. I think Tera is still training, girl knows how to work harder than most." Iren said, wiping his brow.

"She knows how to fight, that's for certain. Her reflexes are insane." Flare said, remembering his sparring match.

Iren nodded. "Yeah, that's her semblance. I'm not gonna say more about that, though, that's her business."

"Oh, sorry. Iren, this is Jaune, a fellow team leader and first year." Flare gestured towards the skinny blonde next to him. "Jaune, this is Iren, one of my teammates." He motioned at Iren, and the two quickly exchanged a brief greeting. After a few moments of silence, interspersed between moments of eating, Jaune stood up.

"Good to meet you, Iren. Good to see you, Flare. I'm gonna go talk to my team, maybe get some homework done. Bye." Jaune waved goodbye, walking out the arching doors of the cafeteria.

The remaining two finished their food, before standing up and leaving, headed back to their dorm.

* * *

Opening the door to the dorm revealed Lillith laying on one of the two couches in lounge, and the sound of a shower.

"Hey there Lillith. I'm back." Flare said, as his partner looked up at him from the book she was intently studying.

"Hey there, Team Leader. You, after having disappeared for the entire day, have a lot of explaining to do. Either Iren already drilled you for information, or he was too damn nice to do that." She looked at Flare grumpily, closing her book and putting it on the coffee table.

Flare scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry Lillith. I had some private business to deal with, but that should be the last time. Like I told Iren." Flare walked over to the lounge, picking up a remote from the coffee table and sitting on the other couch. He turned on the television, as Lillith picked her book back up.

"I'm gonna have a shower when Tera is done. Catch you in a bit." Iren said, as he ducked into the bedroom.

Flare flicked through a couple channels, before settling on one.

"In other news, the string of dust robberies has escalated recently. Many believe the crime spree is being perpetrated by the White Fang, and others claim it is an independent syndicate led by the as yet uncaptured Roman Torchwick, who escaped capture just recently. The one constant is that the robberies are highly organised, and the police are requesting that anyone with any information about the crimes, to please speak up. This is Lisa Lavender, with the Vale News Network."

Flare nearly fell off the lounge when a wet towel hit him in the face. Quickly tearing it off, Tera stood at the door to the bedroom, dressed in green tracksuit pants, and a gold sports bra.

"Where the hell have you been all day? First you get promoted to our leader, now you go all mysterious stranger on us and disappear? What gives, asshole?" Contrary to how she sounded, Flare noticed that she didn't look angry at all.

"Like I said to the others, I just had a little bit of private business to attend to. Should be the last time." Flare replied, flinging the towel back at the girl. She caught it and threw it onto her bed, before walking into the kitchen.

"Well then, leader, care for a coffee?" She asked, grabbing mugs from the cupboard above the sink. "You too, Lil?"

"No thanks, Tera, I'm good." Flare said, shaking his head, whilst his partner nodded affirmation, and Tera set out two mugs without even looking. She knew her old teammate well.

After relaxing for a while, Iren joining the rest of FLIT in the lounge, the team decided to call it a night. They retired to their beds, and slept soundly, all tired from the various things they had done that day.

* * *

Two weeks of Beacon Academy. The schoolwork was starting to grate on Flare. Sure, he had a super intelligent living AI to help him, but that just made it more boring. There was only so much he could listen to Port's lectures, or _tales_ as the case may be, before he was irritable. Sure combat class was entertaining, but he was still yet to be called up, or any of his team for that matter. History was at least somewhat interesting, but Oobleck was such a fast talker that Flare could just barely keep up, and it wasn't as if Vier could transcribe the entire lecture, that would take far longer than the lesson actually lasted.

His only solace was Advanced Weaponry, with Professor Wright. The man knew what he was talking about, and between the anecdotes of his various experiences as a part of the Atlas Military Advanced Weapons Research and Development, he could back up his words with action. His experience was invaluable to any of the classes participants, some of which, Ruby and Lillith most prominently, had started to theorise about why his failed experiments had failed. Flare had made a comment about how maybe incorporating an automatic rifle into crescent rose would defeat the purpose of a sniper rifle, only to have Lillith drag him down into the point of a multi-staged rifle, and Flare had to agree, after listening to the two girls practically cram their arguments down his throat, that it was an idea that had some merit. He was not going to say that, however, otherwise they'd never stop talking. He might enjoy the class, but it was still a class. He didn't need weapons lectures outside of the class, that would be a bit much.

He had managed to integrate his team with RWBY and JNPR, and now the three teams would often join each other in the cafeteria. Ruby had been responsible for dragging the very snobbish Weiss into a more social environment, and she had mellowed a little, much to the pleasure of literally everyone else. Jaune, thanks to his budding friendship with his fellow new leaders, had made friends with everyone else, except Weiss, who only glared at the boy frostily. The three teams were currently gathered in the cafeteria, talking and eating before their next lessons, which were history and combat class for the first years, and grimm studies and combat class for the second years.

"So who do you reckon will be fighting in class today? I hope it's me, I've been itching to kick some ass for a while now." Tera said, and Yang nodded, cracking her knuckles.

"Yeah, because you sure kicked my ass last time we fought Tera." Flare said sarcastically. "Same goes for you Yang. At the moment, I'm undefeated."

"Oh yeah, tough guy? Maybe it'll be you and Pyrrha? See who of the two 'undefeated' loses?" Tera said, pointing at the bronze warrior.

"It would be a very entertaining match, but I don't think the Professor would pit a first year against a second year." Pyrrha said, frowning slightly.

"Maybe you could just challenge him." Blake said.

"Ooh, then you could break his legs!" Nora cried out happily.

"Nora, it wouldn't go that far, it's just sparring." Ren admonished the hammer-wielder.

"Regardless of who fights, I hope it is a better showing than what the idiot did last time." Weiss said, glaring frostily at Jaune.

Jaune just sighed.

"Weiiiisss! Leave Jaune alone, he's doing the best he can!" Ruby pouted at her partner, who just frowned and looked away.

"Speaking of Cardin, take a look." Iren said, gesturing towards the scene that was unfolding across from where the twelve were sat.

Cardin and his team had surrounded a bunny-eared girl, one that Flare recognised as one of the two he fought in his entrance exam. With a quick look, he noticed that Pyrrha had noticed this as well.

Cardin was pulling on one of her ears, while his teammates were laughing and tormenting the poor girl.

"OI ASSHOLES!" Before Flare could make a move, Tera had jumped to her feet and shouted at CRDL. "Leave her alone, you useless trash! What, did your poor sweet mommy leave you for a faunus or something?" Flare stared at his teammate, surprised.

Cardin walked over, flanked by his teammates. He was seething.

"What the hell do you want, bitch?" He asked aggressively, stepping close to Tera.

"The hell do you want with her, _bitch_?" Tera asked back, stepping right in Cardin's face. Tera stood at a head shorter than Cardin, but this didn't faze her at all.

"What I do ain't your business, so why don't you piss off." Cardin replied, one hand on his weapon.

Tera noticed that not only Cardin, but his teammates had put their hands on their weapons.

"Oh, you assholes must find it so easy to pick on someone who doesn't fight back, huh. Might be a little more difficult with me." Tera said, putting one hand on one of her daggers.

Cardin stepped back and drew his mace, and his team drew their weapons, ready for a fight.

Flare, along with everyone else except Tera, stood up and drew their weapons. Cardin noticed that it went from four on one to twelve on one, and that suddenly his odds against the invincible girl, amongst others, were slim. He placed his weapon back on his belt, before turning and leaving.

"Yeah that's right, bitch. You run back home to your daddy. The two of you can cry to each other about your poor mommy!" Tera couldn't resist one final jab, and Cardin snapped, charging at her barefisted.

He made it all of about ten feet before Flare grabbed him, flipping him over and slamming him through the table, shattering the wooden planks as Cardin impacted. Cardin's team, who had planned on rushing over to help, stopped dead in their tracks. Their leader had just been taken out with one hit, he hadn't even had time to activate his aura. With their leader, who was their strongest fighter, taken out, the team had nothing to fall back on.

Flare dragged Cardin from the wreckage of the table and tossed him at his team, who caught the dazed teenager.

"Get lost, or that injury will be the last of your problems." Flare said, green eyes hardened at CRDL.

They quickly followed his order, dragging their leader out of the cafeteria, past a very angry looking Glynda, who was staring at the group, who all stood around a ruined table. With a flourish of her riding crop, the table reassembled itself.

"What happened here?" Glynda asked, frustrated.

Tera went to speak, but Flare motioned for her to be quiet.

"My apologies, Professor, but Cardin tripped and had an accident. He broke the table when he landed on it, heavy plate armor and all that. I helped him up, that's all." Flare said, hands behind his hips, back straight.

"I'm sure, Mr Archid. All of you, just get to class. I can't be bothered to give twelve people detention for something I'm certain Mr Winchester brought upon himself." Glynda said, shaking her head. She walked out of the cafeteria, obviously preoccupied with other thoughts.

"Well, that went well. Nice moves, Flare." Lillith said, eyeing her partner.

"He left himself wide open." Flare replied. "C'mon, Glynda is right. Class."

The group began to make their way out of the cafeteria, splitting as they made their way to their classes.

As FLIT walked towards grimm studies, Tera grabbed Flare, and pulled him back a bit.

"Sorry about that, Flare. Thanks for dealing with him, though. He just… Ugh. He's an asshole, and he reminded me of our old leader." Tera said, looking at the ground.

"No problem, Tera. You said something before I could, and whilst you don't get any points for being diplomatic, at least you said something. Outside of the twelve of us, how many people were going to actually say something? I can tell you that this kind of discrimination isn't new." Flare replied, motioning for the girl to follow him as he caught up to the rest of the team.

Tera nodded, and quickly walked ahead, falling in line next to her partner.

Lillith slowed for a second to allow Flare to catch up, and her partner quickly fell in step next to her.

"Thanks for helping her, Flare. Tera has always spoken before she thinks, and that has gotten us in trouble countless times. Nice excuse, by the way. How'd you know that'd fly?" Lillith asked, curious.

"I had a feeling that Glynda had some more… pressing matters to attend to." Flare said, inwardly wondering exactly what had the strict professor so preoccupied.

Lillith nodded, accepting the answer, and the pair followed their teammates into the classroom, ready for another lesson of extreme boredom. Professor Port never disappointed that estimate, that was for certain.

* * *

"Mr Roust, Ms Xiao Long and Ms Valkyrie, if you would please get your weapons and enter the arena." Goodwitch asked the three, who all got applause from the three teams.

The three competitors geared up, and entered the arena as instructed, all somewhat anxious to see how the fight would be laid out. This was the first time a three person match had occurred.

"The three of you will fight each other, there is no team in this matchup. As always, the rules are the same. Begin!" Glynda shouted the last word, and the three quickly regained their composure, weapons out.

Nora was the first to attack, hammering down on Iren's guarding broadsword, as he blocked the heavy strike. He stumbled back from the blow, and Yang moved in, taking the opening to strike Nora in the side. Nora was launched back, and Yang swiveled, going for a second blow, only to be struck by Iren's greatsword. She slid back, aura flickering from the powerful strike. Nora charged into strike Iren again, with Yang charging on the other side. Iren quickly split his broadsword into the twin longswords, and blocked both strikes. He buckled under the combined power of both first years, and was forced to his knees. A quick kick from Yang swept his legs out from underneath him, and he hit the floor. Nora quickly switched targets, a swift uppercutting strike from her hammer launched Yang into the air, who flipped, firing buckshot at the hammer-wielder. Nora dodged, form-shifting her hammer into a grenade launcher, and began firing back, grenades arcing and striking the arena shield. Iren took this time to recover, back on his feet. He recombined his swords, and waited.

The two girls were occupied with each other, Yang on the ground trying to close in on Nora, but being assailed by a never ending barrage of explosives. After a few seconds, Nora shifted Magnhild into it's hammer form, and quickly charged in to hit Yang. Yang sidestepped the heavy strike, and struck Nora with a sharp jab, before grabbing the hammer and throwing it out of reach. Nora stumbled back from the punch, and quickly leaped for her weapon, only to be struck in the small of the back by a recoil-assisted elbow strike. Nora hit the ground hard, aura in the red, and Yang turned to her last opponent, who was standing, broadsword in hands, on the other side of the arena.

Iren leveled his broadsword at the blonde brawler, and waited for her move. She was careful, feinting charges, and feeling out his defenses. She paced, looking for an opening, the ever-patient swordsman standing stock-still as he waited for her attack. After almost ten seconds of nearly nothing happening, Yang fired her gauntlets, using the recoil to launch her forwards, faster than she would have been able to without them. Iren quickly flicked his blade up, and parried the first punch, but took the second to the shoulder, sending him spinning. With a flourish he recovered, slashing his blade in a wide arc to buy himself some space. His sword met some resistance, right before it was torn out of his grip by a very angry, red-eyed Yang. Now unarmed, Iren quickly leaped backwards, trying to keep some distance from the now enraged brawler. He noticed a small clump of yellow on the floor of the arena next to where he had been standing. At least he knew what had angered the girl, he thought, right before a very powerful punch hit him in the stomach, launching him into the other side of the arena. His armor had absorbed most of the shock, but his aura was on the brink of red, and he had no weapon. He had two options. He chose the easier of the two, he didn't need the girl's wrath outside of the arena.

"I surrender." The two simple words came out of his mouth, and Yang stumbled, trying to stop her strike from landing.

"Ms Xiao Long is the winner. Well done. Class dismissed." Goodwitch addressed the class, before quickly stepping outside. It was rare for the professor to be out of the classroom before the students, and this caught the entire class off guard. After a few seconds of stunned silence, the students began standing up and wandering out.

FLIT, JNPR and RWBY all walked over, with Ren pulling Nora's arm around his neck, supporting her. Yang looked quizzically at Iren.

"Why'd you surrender?" She asked, straight to the point.

"Another hit like that and I would have been _out_ of aura, not in the red. I considered my options, and I don't want to go to the infirmary. It's just sparring, after all." Iren replied, hiding the jab at her loss of temper. "If it were a real fight, and you were my enemy, I wouldn't have chosen to surrender. I would have chosen something that wouldn't have the same result in sparring as it would in a life-or-death fight."

Flare looked at his teammate for a quick second, nodding his affirmation. "You made the right decision, Iren. Yang, I know Goodwitch left before saying anything, so I'll use my experience to tell you that you need to learn to hold back. Some semblances are more dangerous than others, and yours could very well injure someone. If Iren wasn't wearing all that armor, he'd easily have at least three broken ribs, probably more."

Yang just huffed, before her features softened. "Sorry, Iren. I didn't mean to hit you so hard."

Iren nodded, and took his weapon from Lillith, who had retrieved it. Flare laughed at the sight of the small girl holding a broadsword almost as big as her, and Lillith smacked him in the chest. The three teams all chuckled in various levels of mirth, and walked out of the classroom, laughter and chatter echoing down the halls of Beacon.

* * *

The next day was different. Not only was it a friday, but it was the friday that the second years started getting missions. Flare was softly singing a song to himself as he and his team walked down the corridor to the assembly hall, where they would choose a job. According to Lillith, all their first year missions had them either shadowing a professional Huntsmen or Huntress, or had them in the city or neighbouring towns doing odd jobs.

As they walked in amongst the other second year teams, Flare noticed that Ozpin was standing at the podium, waiting for the allotted time for arrival to pass before giving his address. Ten minutes of standing around, waiting for the final teams to make their way in, and finally Ozpin spoke.

"Thank you all for coming. Today you, as teams, will be undertaking a mission. These missions will not be like the missions from your previous year. You will not be shadowing a professional, you will be operating as a full huntsmen team. You will be briefed on the specifics of the mission after you have chosen. Good luck." With this, Ozpin left the podium, stepping off the stage. A series of holographic screens flickered on, all covered in various listings of missions.

Lillith dragged the rest of the team over to one of the screens. She began scrolling through, considering the options. Flare was content to watch the smaller girl as she muttered to herself.

"So, Lil, you actually gonna let the rest of us help choose?" Tera asked, poking the smaller girl. She turned around, and stepped back, head down.

"Sorry." She muttered. Flare put his hand on her shoulder.

"Relax. Honestly, this is my first time doing anything like this. You guys have more experience picking missions than I do, so go for it." Flare said, and Iren quirked an eyebrow.

"Wait, hold on. You never went to _any_ academy?" Iren asked, confused.

Flare just nodded, before replying. "Yeah. I'd rather not talk about my past, if that's alright. It's kinda… difficult to talk about."

"Well, anyway, we need to pick. How about this one?" Tera asked, pointing at the screen. The top of the screen read 'Search and Destroy', and below there was a location.

"Says here it's in Quadrant 2, huh. Where is that, exactly?" Flare asked, looking to his teammates.

"It's in the northeast. The entire place is a part of the Grimm Badlands." Iren answered the query. "I'm up for it if you guys are."

"Yeah, I'm game." Tera said, looking to the remaining two.

"Sure thing." Lillith replied, looking at her leader.

"Well, it sounds like the vote has passed, huh." Flare said, chuckling as he entered the team as applicants for the mission.

The screen flashed, the words 'accepted' appearing on it. With that, Flare's scroll buzzed. He quickly pulled it out and saw a message. He checked it, reading it intently.

"Says here we depart tomorrow morning, oh-six-hundred. We have to catch a bullhead from the shuttle bay, and we will be briefed on the way there." Flare said, relaying the message to his team.

"So, what, we have half a day to do nothing?" Tera looked around at the other teams, some of which were still deliberating, and some of which were wandering out of the room.

"We do, but we aren't going to do nothing. I am going to go talk with Professor Wright about something, but you guys should pack for a trip. I don't know how long we will be gone, so best prepare for a long one." Flare said, as he began to walk off. "I'll catch up with you later!" He called out as he left.

Once Flare was out of the room and in a more secluded space, with the other years in class, he motioned for Vier, who appeared in front of him.

"Hey, Vier, did you manage to talk to Wright about what I asked?" Flare questioned his eternal companion.

"Of course, Guardian. I believe he is ready to go through with it." Vier replied, front section rotating.

Flare heard footsteps approaching, and he quickly dismissed Vier, thanking him. With that, Flare turned around, just in time to see the two girls he had fought in his entrance exam, flanked by a small statured dark-skinned boy, his pupils milky, and a very tall man that Flare recognized as the guy who beat Yang in her exam.

"Um, hi." The one with rabbit ears said, shyly. She looked at the ground. "I never really got a chance to say thanks to you and your friend for stepping in the other day."

"No worries. Cardin was getting on my nerves, if my teammate, Tera, hadn't of said anything then I would've." Flare said, nodding mostly to himself. "My name's Flare."

"Oh, mine's Velvet. These are my teammates, Yatsuhashi, Fox and Coco, the leader." With the introduction, she pointed at the big man, the smaller man and the girl Flare had fought, in that order.

"Nice to meet all of you, and nice to have the name of the girl I beat in my entrance exam." Flare smirked with the last sentence, sending a little verbal jab out to test the waters.

"Yeah, yeah, that'll be the last time that ever happens. I didn't realise that you were a second year." Coco replied, taking the light-hearted insult in her stride, mentally deciding she liked how he held himself.

"Yeah, according to Ozpin putting me on a first year team would be somewhat unfair for all involved. It also lined up rather conveniently with my now team, so yeah." Flare explained. "Sorry to duck out so early, but I have an errand to run. Pleasure meeting all of you." With the goodbye, Flare turned and headed towards Professor Wrights office.

* * *

Knocking on the door, Flare heard the Professor call for him to enter.

"Ah, hello Mr Archid. I was wondering how long it would take before you arrived. I assume this is about the information Vier has provided me?" Wright asked, motioning for Flare to take a seat in the chair on the closer side of his desk.

Flare took the proffered seat. "Yes, sir. I trust that you have looked over the material enough for an attempt at the real thing?"

"Indeed, however you must understand, anything could happen. I have never done this before, so we will see what happens. We could explode, however, so I hope you are prepared." Wright pushed the paperwork on his desk to the side, leaving a clear space. Flare took the opportunity to place the glowing engram on the desk, and the professor stared at it, mesmerised.

"Interesting. It shows properties unheard of prior to your arrival, but at the same time looks almost similar to a highly-concentrated dust crystal, of variating type. Intriguing. Shall we?" Wright looked up at Flare, who nodded confirmation. "Very well. Here goes."

With that, the Professor put his hands on the engram, one on each side. A few moments passed, with nothing happening, when suddenly the engram glowed, a bright light flickering between red, white, black and yellow, the sheer luminosity blinding Flare.

Flare closed his eyes, looking away from the blinding light-show, when it stopped as suddenly as it started. Opening his eyes, Flare looked at the desk. On it sat a seemingly nondescript rifle.

"Well, that was an odd experience. I can only assume it worked." The professor said, blinking repeatedly, trying to recover complete eyesight.

"Yeah…" Flare said, lost in thought. He reached down and picked up the rifle. It was a dull silver, with the edges tinged in a deep bronze.

"Congratulations, Mr Archid. It would appear you have a new weapon. I have no idea what it is or does, but every weapon needs a name. I would suggest taking it to a training room and figuring it out before naming it." Wright stood up, dusting the back of his pants with his hands.

Flare followed suit, standing up. "Thank you, Professor. I had best follow your advice." With that, Flare left Wright's office, and began the trek to one of the weapon training rooms.

A five minute walk later, Flare was standing in a very empty training range. He strode over to the far wall, where a series of bins stood against the wall. Flare took his time, examining the weapon in detail. At first glance, it seemed bullpup in design, but that was where a casual glance would throw that estimate wide. It had a slot for a magazine in the rear, and was loaded as such. What confused Flare was the magazine slot in front of the trigger grip. Flare decided that he had no idea what he was looking at, but he couldn't exactly call for help. He needed to convince both Lillith and Ruby that he had made this weapon. That was going to be a headache.

With a quick investigation of the magazines done, Flare determined that they used different rounds, with the smaller rear magazine using .338 Lapua Magnum dust rounds, and the front magazine using 5.56mm dust rounds. He considered the odd options, but shoved the thoughts aside as he focused on the rest of the rifle. The trigger grip had the usual safety switch, with a firing selector, and a small button. He pressed the button, curious, and watched as small panel opened. Out from the panel dangled a cable, and Flare recognized it as a scroll connector. Confused, Flare pulled out his scroll and fumbled for a second, finally connecting the cable.

A small progress bar filled on his scroll, and suddenly the screen had a series of options. He began to read the options.

"Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Shotgun… Damn." Flare whistled. 'This is one hell of a weapon.' He thought, as he pressed a button on his scroll. Suddenly, the rifle folded apart, slots opening for ammunition storage. With a quick check, he loaded the weapon with 12 gauge slugs, 9mm dust rounds, 7.62mm dust rounds, and a couple 40mm caseless grenades. Once he had finished loading the weapon, he pressed the button again, and the weapon sealed up, back to its original look. Flare was impressed, the weapon stored far more ammunition than it had any right to.

It was then that Flare had a clever idea. Quickly checking the room for inquisitive eyes, Flare called Vier.

"Vier, is it possible to interface with my scroll and provide these commands mentally using our link?" Flare asked, his mechanical companion hovering around the weapon.

Vier looked back up at his guardian. "It shouldn't be a problem, Guardian. One moment." With that said, Vier quickly dematerialised, and Flare felt a slight tingle down his spine. Through the internal link they shared, Flare heard Vier. "All done, Guardian. Give it a try."

With this, Flare held the weapon, slotting his scroll into the receptacle that he realised was there for. He walked over to the target range and quickly set up four targets. One at 25m, one at 50m, one at 150m and one at the maximum range of the range, 200m. He quickly thought the word 'shotgun', but nothing happened.

Through the internal link, Vier said. "Guardian, try 'shotgun form'." With this, Flare thought 'shotgun form', and yet was still surprised when the rifle shifted form in his hand, the weapon changing shape. It was a series of _very_ complicated moving parts, all shifting and forming almost like liquid. It took only a split-second, and Flare quickly leveled the now-shotgun at the close target, firing a shot. The gun bucked in his steady hands, and the 12 gauge buckshot blew a massive chunk out of the paper target.

With another thought, the weapon transformed into a smaller, more compact PDW. He noticed that the iron sights had melded and shifted to form a small red dot sight, and he sighted in, bringing the PDW to bear on the second target. With a pull of the trigger, the gun spat a burst of 9mm bullets at the target, all hitting center mass.

A third thought, and the weapon re-shifted again, this time back into it's original form, except the iron-sights had been replaced with an ACOG. Sighting down once again, he squeezed the trigger, and a single 7.62mm bullet rung out of the barrel, hitting the third target just shy of the neck, burrowing into the left shoulder. So that was 'battle rifle form', thought Flare, even as he shifted his aim.

The final thought coalesced in his mind, and the rifle elongated, and suddenly became a bolt-action sniper rifle. The scope reformed, becoming a much more powerful version, at least 8x, from what Flare could tell. He quickly aimed the weapon, firing a shot. The powerful .338 Lapua Magnum dust round roared across the range, tearing the entire head off the target.

Flare stood back, resting the weapon against his shoulder, safety on and barrel pointed at the ceiling. After a second, he hit the reset switch on the range, and walked back to the ammo bins.

With a quick thought, the gun reset back to what Flare refered to as 'default form.' With another thought, the gun opened up it's various ports, and Flare quickly grabbed the couple rounds he needed to refill. He was going to have to make a trip down to Vale to pick up some spare ammunition, that was for certain. With a swift display of incredible skill that he wished _someone_ had been around to see, Flare quickly flipped the now closed rifle over his shoulder, it magnetising to the plate on his back. He walked out of the range, deep in thought.

'I've gotta go shop for ammo, gotta pack, gotta figure out an excuse for how I made this for Lillith and Ruby, all before the mission tomorrow morning. This is gonna be pretty hectic.' He thought as he walked, where he bumped into the person who quote-unquote _created_ the weapon.

"So, Mr Archid. Do you have a name for the weapon?" Wright asked, curious as to what the young guardian had named it.

"Umm…" Flare thought for a few seconds, before settling on a name.

"Well, Mr Archid. Do tell. The suspense is killing me." Wright raised an eyebrow.

"I call it Infinite Solution."

* * *

 **BOOM! That name took a little bit of thought, kinda like it. The weapon itself is quite an interesting concept, I wanted to go with a mecha-shifting weapon but had to consider that in Destiny you don't just have one weapon. The perfect compromise had to be made.**

 **Thanks for the review, Main117, I hope i can live up to the modicum of hype I built up.**

 **As for the usual, I always appreciate reviews, so go right ahead.**

 **Thanks all, and I'll see you next chapter (whenever the fuck that is. Who knows at this point. Maybe you'll just have to follow to keep up :P)  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	7. Chapter 7: Hunting

**Hello all. I know, this is pretty soon compared to the near two week disappearance of chapter six, but I figured I owed you guys. Nothing much to say here, just that this is majorly a set-up chapter for the next big ones. Here's hoping you like it, and as always; (I Own Nothing)**

* * *

The trip into Vale had been rather uneventful, and Flare had bought a reasonable stock of ammunition, only spending a quarter of the monthly funds that Ozpin had provided him with.

That ammunition would last at least a few months, so Flare wasn't too worried about his monetary situation. What he was worried about was how he was going to explain Infinite Solution to Lillith and Ruby. The last thing he wanted was to annoy the girls, especially when they had offered to help. This was going to be tricky.

It was then, halfway from Vale to Beacon aboard a civilian bullhead, that Flare came up with the perfect excuse.

* * *

"So… what you're telling me is that you didn't want my help, or Ruby's, because you wanted to challenge yourself to see if you could do it without help. Really." Lillith was frowning, trying to peer over Flare's shoulder to see the weapon that lay beyond.

So it wasn't the perfect excuse. In fact, it was far from it, considering the glare Flare was currently getting.

"Well, I wanted to make sure that I could keep up with Professor Wright's classwork, so I felt like I needed to test my ability, and I only got advice from the professor, that's all." Flare said, trying to defuse the bomb in human form that was the very angry and somewhat jealous Lillith.

"Well, at least let me see it." Lillith had calmed down somewhat, having thought about his reasoning. It wasn't fair on him to be angry, considering she had offered to help, he hadn't asked. She was overcome by curiosity at this point.

Flare drew the weapon from its magnetized spot on his back, showing off its dull silver and gleaming bronze. Lillith held out her hands, a little mesmerized by the colours. Flare placed it in her hands, confidant she was able to handle it with care.

Handle it with care she did as she poured over the weapon, well trained eyes glancing at every minute detail, taking it all in with contained excitement and muted professionalism, a combination Flare had never seen before. He watched as she tested out the weight, the heft, everything she could. After almost two minutes of complete silence, save for her hmm-ing, she looked up at him.

"Why do you have all these mechanical components, but no forms to shift into? And why do you have two magazines of different ammo, with only one barrel?" She looked confused, wondering what could possibly have led Flare down this seemingly self-destructive idea.

Flare simply pulled out his scroll, connecting it in the weapon's scroll-slot, plugging it in. Lillith's eyes went wide as the scroll seamlessly connected and the options appeared.

"Woah." Was all she could say, as she pressed one of the options. The weapon transformed in her hands, suddenly sprouting the 8x scope and longer barrel.

She looked at Flare, suddenly suspicious. "Flare, half this stuff is _theoretical._ As in no one has ever managed to make a working prototype of some of this stuff, _ever._ How the hell did you manage this?"

Flare scratched the back of his head, trying to figure out another excuse, one hopefully not as flimsy as his previous.

"Well, Professor Wright has some connections with Atlas, so he hooked me up?" Flare said, not convincing himself. Lillith took it at face value, however.

"That explains it. Even you couldn't figure some of this stuff out." She looked back at him, and suddenly smiled. "This is honestly incredible. What's it called?"

Flare smiled at the girl, talking the weapon back and taking out his scroll, the weapon reverting back to it's default form. "I call it Infinite Solution. What do you think?" He asked, looking at the girl. In truth the name was the only thing he had done to make the weapon, so to speak.

"That, is a really good name for a weapon like that. Are you still going to keep using your hand cannon?" She asked, gesturing to the weapon that sat on his hip, almost forgotten about.

"Oh. I don't know. I'm gonna hold onto it, though. Never know when you might need it." He said, tapping the gun lightly.

With this, Tera and Iren walked into the dorm.

"Hey, Flare, you packed yet?" Tera asked, dumping a load of supplies onto the coffee table.

"Not yet, gotta get started on that." Flare replied, before sifting through the newly dumped supplies. "Mmm, MREs. Those will be delicious." His tone was dripping with sarcasm, and Tera laughed.

"Trust me, bossman, I know. But it's all I could get, so get ready for them." Tera leaped onto the couch, flopping into a more comfortable position as Iren walked through, dumping a few packages marked 'medical'.

"All that's left is for you to get packed, Flare. Have fun." Iren said, following Tera's lead and unceremoniously dropping onto the couch.

Flare decided to take the multiple hints, and went into the bedroom, grabbing a few things, putting them into a bag. He walked out, having spent almost a minute packing.

"Alright, I'm done." He said, his three teammates looking at him as if he was insane.

"You said pack for a long trip, and then you pack for a quick outing?" Tera exclaimed, confused.

"I travel light, have for a long time." Flare said by way of explanation, and Lillith just nodded.

"We have enough stuff to cover you anyway. Relax Tera." Iren said, gesturing to the stacks of supplies.

Tera snorted, before pulling out her scroll, opening a fighting game and playing. Lillith relaxed, now sat on the other couch, reading a book. Iren simply sat next to Tera, eyes closed, breathing even. Flare quickly checked the time, noting it was early evening. Flare walked over to one of the desks, one that Lillith had converted to a weapon maintenance table. He laid down his weapon, quickly going through the options on his scroll, which he had connected.

He scrolled through the list, noting a few of the interesting options. There were a few weapon variants, a few handling options, a few attachments, nothing out of the ordinary. Two things that caught his attention were the option for a suppressor, and something called 'night mode'. He filed the information away in his mind, making sure he would remember it when the time came to test them. After some time, Flare disconnected his scroll, grabbing Infinite Solution, and walked over to the weapon rack that sat near the door. He hooked the gun into the rack, then turned to his teammates.

"Dinner?" He asked, noticing both Tera and Lillith perk up, and Iren opening his eyes.

"Sure thing." Lillith chirped, putting her book down.

"Yeah, sounds good." Tera said, tossing her scroll onto the coffee table.

"It'll probably be the last good dinner we have for at least a week, at my guess, so absolutely." Iren stretched as he spoke.

The team all gathered their packed stuff into a pile by the door, before walking out towards the cafeteria, hoping for some good dinner.

* * *

In the cafeteria was the the teams RWBY and JNPR, who motioned for the older team to join them. Flare and his team did so, grabbing some food on the way over.

"So, what's happening with you guys? Why weren't you at any lessons today?" The question came from Ruby, who was currently digging into a plate of strawberries.

"We have a mission. We depart six in the morning tomorrow." Flare said, as he stole a strawberry from her plate. Ruby frowned at him, slapping at his hand.

"Plus, Flare was show-" Lillith started to speak, but Flare quickly cut her off, hand on her shoulder, shaking his head almost imperceptibly.

He leaned in and whispered into her ear. "I'd like to get some sleep tonight, not have to deal with an excited Ruby nonstop talking about Infinite Solution." She nodded along with what he said, even though the rest were giving them curious looks.

"Nevermind, it isn't important. How were your days?" Lillith quickly tried to change the subject, and was glad to see that the majority followed suit.

"Besides how _boring_ classes are, pretty normal." Yang said, catching a grape in her mouth.

Flare looked at the offender, Nora armed with a plate of various small foods and a spoon. Next to her, Ren had his head in his hands, obviously given up attempting to stop the two energetic girls.

"At least something interesting is coming to Vale soon. Some of the students from the other academies will be arriving in two weeks, for the Vytal Festival." Weiss spoke, the white-haired girl actually interested in the conversation for once.

"Well, I hope we'll be back by then." Iren said, as interested as the heiress in the coming competition.

"Wait, you might be gone for two weeks or more?" Asked Jaune, horrified.

"Relax, Jaune. That's a normal time for a mission in Quadrant 2" Tera said, leaning back in her chair.

"Oh." Came the eloquent response from the blond knight.

"Well, we wish you the best of luck on your mission." Pyrrha said happily, smiling.

"Thanks Pyrrha!" Came the cheerful response from Lillith.

The teams continued to chat over food for the rest of the evening, eventually retiring to their dorms.

For team FLIT, that night was one of nervous, restless sleep. For three of them, the next day couldn't come sooner, but one of them slept as if nothing was going to happen. This was not Flare's first mission without a superior, not even his first mission ever. He would be fine, and so would his team.

* * *

The next morning was a rushed affair, with the team getting up a little later than they had intended. Flare had grabbed his bag, and decided that his partner needed a little help carrying hers. With a swift grab, his mechanical prosthetic had lifted one of his partner's two bags, and amidst protest, proceeded to the shuttle bay, flanked by Tera and Iren. Lillith quickly caught up, secretly thankful that her share of the load had been lightened.

As the four arrived, they noticed a trained huntsman standing next to a bullhead, a small holographic screen next to it, reading 'FLIT'. Flare led the way, his team following behind.

"You kids FLIT?" The man asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yes sir, that's us." Flare replied, stopping just in front of the man.

"Well then, name's Nickel, but you can just call me Nick, everyone does. I'm gonna give you a quick briefing before we hop aboard." Nickel gestured to the bullhead.

"Wait, we?" Tera interrupted.

"Yes, we. I'm your pilot." Nick said, looking pointedly at Tera, who met his gaze evenly. "So, here's the briefing. Your mission is to investigate a small White Fang staging outpost, real far up northeast. I'm going to fly far around and drop you even further north, so that's the insertion point. You go in, take out any White Fang presence, or if they overpower you, retreat with the information you gathered. Exfil is TBD, so I'll give you guys a flare-gun to signal me whenever you are ready to evac. Any questions?"

Flare looked about his team, realised they had no questions, and looked back at Nick. "Just one. Why drop us on the far side?"

"Because it'll look really suspicious for an aircraft to just stop over the woods in the middle of nowhere. When I said 'drop', I really meant you will be leaping out at high speed into a pool of water. Sound like fun?" Nick said, looking at the team leader.

Flare nodded, unfazed. Lillith practically squeaked in fear at the thought, however. Flare just gave her a comforting pat on the back, before readjusting his bag on his shoulder. He looked back at Nick. "Shall we then?"

Nick nodded, quickly clambering through the bullhead into the cockpit. Flare and his team climbed into the passenger bay, and began loading their supplies into a couple waterproof bags.

Flare stuck his head in the cockpit, another few questions on the forefront of his mind. "Nick, how far is the dropzone from the target, and do you suggest we go in quiet?"

Nick flicked a few switches on the dash, before turning and facing his younger compatriot. "About two days walk, and yes, I would suggest quiet. Gonna be a bunch of younger grimm between you and the target, so I would suggest melee until you get to the objective."

"Copy." With that, Flare switched his demeanour. His usual attitude was replaced with quiet solemnity. He steeled himself, and quickly ran a mental check over everything, Vier using the internal link to assist. Flare shook himself out of his reverie for a second and looked at Lillith. "Lil, do you have suppressors for those pistols?"

"Yeah, why. Do we need to be quiet?" She asked, quickly pulling the suggested items out of her bag.

Flare nodded, before resuming his meditative thinking. He had limited intelligence on which to operate, and he hated that. Ever since last time-

He shook his head. That was the last thing he needed to be thinking about. This was now, that was then. She was dead. It was his job to make sure the same didn't happen to his new team.

A voice came over the intercom. "Welcome to Nickel International Flights, this is your pilot speaking. We will be arriving at the drop zone in sixteen hours, so get some rest and make sure you are prepped for the drop."

Flare sat back, pressing into the seat that would be his home for the next two-thirds of the day. He closed his eyes, and began to rest.

* * *

A message over the intercom woke Flare. "Attention ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching the dropzone in five. Gear up, and wait for the green light."

Flare stood up, and quickly checked his teammates. Tera was ready, giving him a thumbs-up. Iren was putting on his last bracer, before nodding to Flare. The only person who was struggling was Lillith, but not because she wasn't ready. She looked terrified. Flare walked over, sitting next to her.

"What's wrong Lillith?" He asked, even though he was perfectly aware of what was wrong.

"N-nothing. I'm fine." She lied, and even she knew it was not convincing a three-year-old, let alone her partner and leader.

"Mmhmm. Sounds like you're peachy." Flare said, smiling. "Relax, trust me, I've done this kinda thing before, from far greater heights. This'll be a cakewalk."

Lillith just nodded, not trusting herself to say anything. Flare considered the situation, and came up with a solution. He left her alone as he stood, quickly materialising his helmet. He turned to his team.

"All of you, put these in your ears. They're communicators, and they are synced to my helmet. If you subvocalize into it it'll still register as speaking, so you can talk as silent as you can without a helmet like mine." Flare tossed the communicators to each of them, and they quickly hooked it up.

"Dropzone T-minus thirty, opening the doors now." The interior lights of the bullhead suddenly turned red, and the side door opened to reveal the cold night air. Lillith stepped back, before Flare put a comforting hand on the back of her shoulder. She turned and smiled at him, and he cocked his head, doing his best to simulate a smile with his helmet on. She had rarely seen him with his helmet on, considering he only wore it on either operations like this, or when she had asked him to show her it.

Flare had one of the two waterproof bags, and Iren had the other. A single moment passed, and the red light went green, followed by the 'JUMP JUMP JUMP' from Nick. Lillith froze up, and felt Flare's comforting hand on her back suddenly push her out of the bullhead.

Multiple thoughts clashed in her head, fighting for dominance. The first thought was, quite succinctly, 'OHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT', the second being 'KILLFLAREASSOONASPOSSIBLE', and the third being 'remember to straighten up before we hit the water.' For a split second, she wondered how her inner monologue had just sounded like Flare when she remembered the communicators. She quickly followed the order, straightening up right before impact.

Dust, it hurt. It was like running seventy miles an hour into a concrete wall. Her aura absorbed the majority of the impact, and for a second she sunk like a rock, plunging into the cold watery depths. That was until a powerful metal hand grabbed her collar, and with an immense amount of strength, lifted her up towards the surface. She kicked her legs, the aching muscles responding as she propelled herself upwards with the help of her partner. After what seemed like minutes, but was probably only seconds, the two surfaced, floating languidly in the freezing water. She searched around and saw Tera and Iren surfacing, Iren panting for breath. Dust, she'd needed help and Iren was wearing _plate armor_ , and he'd taken care of himself. Ugh, and now swimming. First freefalling, then sinking, now swimming. Today was not looking to be a great one. 'Excellent first unadulterated mission, Lillith. Jump out of a bullhead into a lake. Great.'

The swim to shore took them almost fifteen minutes, and by the end of it, everyone but Flare was exhausted. They had managed to make it the the southeast part of the coast, of which Flare was responsible for, Vier providing the compass bearings he needed. Seeing as it was already half-past-ten in the evening, Flare decided that this was as good a spot as any to set up camp. He claimed first watch, with Tera volunteering to take second. Only a few seconds passed before Iren, Lillith and Tera were unconscious, the swim evidently having nearly killed their stamina, plus the need to regenerate any lost aura from the jump. Flare was fine, however, he could keep this pace up for days if need be. He had kept a much faster pace for weeks, but that had been out of necessity. That pace, for that long, had nearly killed him outright. Flare shivered at the memory. With a quick press of a button, his comm channel was changed to his private internal link.

"Vier, got any ideas for a game plan?" He asked his companion, quietly. It was impossible for his team to hear him without him taking off his helmet, but he talked quiet all the same.

"I've looked into all the intelligence files I could, Guardian, but everything there is suggests this is a sparsely populated staging area, and that there is currently no reason for any staging. My apologies, Guardian." Vier replied, sending a small holographic area map to Flare.

Flare scanned it thoroughly, and hummed silently to himself as he looked. He quickly projected the map, invisible to the naked eye, in front of him, and began moving it around with his arms. He pointed out a few locations and the map was marked, little waypoint markers appearing. He continued to study it, before a thought occurred to him.

"Vier, what are these little platforms here? They look like mounting units of some kind." Vier scrolled through terabytes of information, looking for anything similar. He found nothing of note.

"Once again, I hate to disappoint, but they are just what they look like. Military grade mounting points, though for what I am afraid I am unaware. According to Atlas data, they are primarily used for mounted anti-grimm weaponry, so nothing we should necessarily have to worry about. This is the most recent scan of the facility, however, Guardian. Without sufficient reconnaissance, we have no way of knowing."

Flare nodded thanks, and went back to checking the facility. After marking a third potential entry point, he dismissed the map, and stood up, stretching. He checked his HUD clock, noting the fact that only two of his four hours of watch had passed. He sat back down, and waited.

* * *

Flare woke, helmet still on. He was on an op, no reason to remove his helmet for something as trivial as sleep. He climbed out of the tent that he shared with Iren, and took a glance around. Tera was sitting on what she had christened as the 'watchlog', drinking a mug of coffee.

"Morning Tera. Anything interesting happen on watch?" He asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the others.

She turned to face him, and he noticed the slightly bitter look on her face. He laughed.

"No milk, huh." She nodded, the bitter taste of the coffee had proven to be too much for her, but she needed the caffeine. They had a long day ahead after all.

"Nothing interesting happened. I sat on this boring-ass log all night. End of report, _sir_." With that, she gave a mock salute, which Flare returned in kind, both sharing a smirk/helmet tilt.

Flare took his helmet off, resting it on the ground next to him as he pulled a rock closer to him. He sat on the rock and fished about one of the packs, quickly pulling out his treasure.

He wondered if Remnant MREs tasted different to the MREs they gave out at the Tower. He was wrong. They tasted exactly the same. 'Incredible.' He thought, sarcastically. He was hungrier than he had thought, however, and soon the MRE was downed. He re-donned his helmet, and woke the other two.

Iren woke without fuss, simply opening his eyes and heaving himself up. Lillith woke in a less dignified manner.

"Wa-huh? Where am I?" She asked, still half-asleep. Flare handed her a mug of the bitter coffee they had all been drinking, and she took it in her hands, reveling in the warmth. As the two began to eat breakfast and wake, most notably Lillith, Tera and Flare began the task of packing up their campsite. Flare quickly turned off their little fire dust burner-top, settling it back in the back. Tera handled the girl's tent, and Flare handled the boys. The result was one very neatly rolled and packed tent, and one jumbled, hasty mess that one could conceivably call a bundle of cloth. Tera looked at Flare and his miserable handiwork, raising an eyebrow.

"I've never really used a tent before, honestly. I know how they work, I just never needed one." He said by way of explanation. She took it at face value, and together the two quickly fixed the mess.

Flare noticed the other two had gotten ready to leave, and the four began the long trek that would take them to their destination. So far, so good.

* * *

The arrow thudded silently into the head of the beowulf that loomed behind Flare, and he quickly lodged his knife into the one on his left. The gap in combat left him able to check on his team, and he was happy to note that they seemed to have everything under control. Iren cleaved the ursa minor in half with his greatsword, checking his surroundings, and sheathing his blade. Another arrow thunked into another beowulf, and it dropped, dead. Tera disconnected her blades, sheathing them on her sides. Lillith was the last in combat, effortlessly slicing the two beowulves in half with her half-chakrams. The four all stepped back to view their handiwork, the grimm corpses disintegrating, wafting black smoke over the area.

"We had best be moving on. Don't want to draw any more attention to ourselves then we just did. Come on." With that, Flare turned, walking towards their destination.

They had been traveling for almost two days now, and they had to be close. The increase in Grimm had been evidence of that, but Flare knew that this was still the easy part of the op.

This was hardly first time he had broken into an enemy controlled facility, and with any luck it wouldn't be his last.

As they walked, Flare found himself thinking about his past. This wasn't something he normally liked to think about, especially on an op, but with Tera currently on point, he could afford a little thinking time.

* * *

 _When he woke, he had no idea where he was. His vision came back to him, and he noticed that it was some kind of junkyard. It had to be, right? There couldn't be any other explanation for the sheer amount of rusted, junked vehicles that surrounded him completely._

" _Guardian? Guardian? You don't know how long I've been looking for you, Guardian. I understand you are confused. I'm a Ghost. Actually, now I'm your Ghost and you… Well, you've been dead a long time, so you are going to see a lot of things you won't understand._

 _He could hear a loud roaring, not to far away. The thing, the 'Ghost', as it called itself, twitched, looking around for the source of the roar, before looking back at him._

" _This is Fallen territory, we aren't safe here. I have to get you to the City. Hold still." With the final comment, the Ghost disappeared in a puff of digitized blue. He was thrown for a loop, when he felt a shudder down his spine._

" _Don't worry, I'm still with you. We need to move, fast." Every time the Ghost talked, each word would send a shiver down his spine. That wasn't great. He'd just have to deal with it, however._

" _We won't survive long out in the open like this, let's get inside the wall."_

 _He began to jog towards the giant wall that loomed ahead of him, wary of the growls and roars he could hear._

 _He walked inside, through a broken door._

" _Okay, I need to find you a weapon, before the Fallen find us."_

 _He began to sneak through the wrecked machinery, making his way through the dark labyrinth that was this place._

 _He heard thumping above him, with a low growl._

" _Quiet, they're above us." The Ghost had him worried now._

 _He snuck into a large expanse, pitch-black._

" _The Fallen thrive in the darkness. We won't. Hold on, I'll get us some light._

 _The Ghost appeared, and quickly hovered away, disappearing into the inky blackness of the shadows. Suddenly, after a quip from the Ghost, the lights came on. He wished they hadn't. All he could see were alien creatures, four-armed and holding various weapons. He turned and ran, sliding under a grate that had been partially opened._

" _Here, a weapon." His Ghost indicated it, the rifle leaning against an overturned metal crate._

 _He picked it up, and looked at it, the HUD of his helmet identifying it as a KHVOSTOV 7G-02 Auto Rifle. It was a weapon, that would have to do. He turned towards the sound of the growling, and flicked the safety off the rifle. He hoped he wasn't rusty._

* * *

Flare was snapped from his reverie when he almost bumped into the back of Tera, who had stopped. They were near the facility, and whilst they didn't have eyes on the entire thing, what they did have was a small lookout tower.

"Shh, everyone stay quiet." Tera subvocalized as Flare put his free hand on her shoulder, drawing his knife with his other. Tera nodded as she realised that he was taking point, and very quietly snuck backwards, stopping next to the others. Flare snuck up to the little lookout tower, and listened intently. He could just faintly hear snoring, at least two sleeping. He could also hear a set of footsteps, pacing back and forth atop the platform. Flare quickly entered through the doorway, the only entrance, and crept up the stairs. He had to be really careful, he was dealing with Faunus. This was going to be more difficult than he was used to. Knife out in front of him, held in a reverse grip, blade outwards, he used his free hand to very slowly push the door at the top of the stairs open.

With the door open just a crack, Flare quickly stopped, waiting. A few seconds passed, before he heard one of the faunus.

"Hey, I'm just going to take a quick piss. Back in a sec." Flare heard the first one talk, with the second grunting acknowledgement. Good. That meant two awake, two asleep. Four hostiles, none expecting company. The door to the staircase was swung open, and it revealed a wolf faunus to Flare, and vice versa. Before the wolf faunus could say anything, or even make a sound, Flare had pressed his knife into his throat. The blade penetrated easily, the wolf faunus unable to activate his aura in time. As he quietly dragged the corpse down the stairs, he laid him against the base of the building, opposite his team. Flare quickly patted him down, and discovered about a hundred lien. Flare dematerialised the lien, Vier taking care of it, before he snuck back up the stairs. The door had been left open, which was convenient. A quick step across the threshold of the door, pausing to see if he had been heard, Flare located the other awake guard. The man appeared to be some kind of bull faunus, sharp protruding horns above his head. Flare had to do this quick, before anyone noticed something was amiss. He flipped his grip on his knife, blade now held between his fingers, and threw it at the bull faunus.

A split-second passed as Flare watched the knife tumble end over end towards the unsuspecting guard, and it quietly thudded into place, piercing the back of his head, puncturing the bull faunus' brainstem. The now dead guard slumped, and Flare quickly blinked over to him, catching him before he hit the ground and woke the other two. He yanked his knife free of the back of the dead faunus' skull, and quickly stalked over to the only other door on the platform. He pushed it open slightly, and revealed two sleeping figures. One was a large dog faunus, the other looked to be some kind of… He couldn't really tell. She didn't have any distinctive beastial traits, except for two small nubs of bone on her back, just below the shoulder blades. He noticed that the beds had nameplates. The mans read 'Oaker', and the girls read 'Cerulea'. Flare stole into the room, and silently slit the throat of Oaker. The man barely reacted to the blade, eyes wide open and brain unthinking. Flare lifted the heavy corpse, and dragged him outside the room, making sure to be as silent as possible. He closed the door to the sleeping girl, then knocked loudly.

"Cerulea, come quick! I've never seen anything like this!" Flare said, in a voice that mimicked the sound of the wolf faunus.

He heard scrambling, and the mostly dressed form of Cerulea stumbled out of the room, slamming the door open. She was missing her top, but had wrapped her blanket around her.

Her eyes widened in shock and abject horror before he grabbed her by the throat, a swift hammer blow to the temple from the handle of his knife knocking her unconscious.

He threw the blanket to the side, avoiding looking at her bare chest. He walked back into the bedroom and grabbed the first shirt he was, and tossed it at her unconscious body. He would wait for her to wake.

"FLIT, standby. I might be a little while. Set up camp nearby somewhere safe. I'll see you soon." Flare spoke into his comms.

"Copy that boss. Will do." Came the voice of Tera through her comm.

Flare sat down in one of the chairs, and drew his hand cannon. He knew keeping it around would come in handy. He waited for Cerulea to wake up.

* * *

He didn't have to wait long, as the faunus woke up after fifteen minutes. She stared at him, then looked down at herself. She wasn't cuffed, or tied up in anyway, but that was the second thing she noticed. The first thing was that it was a really chilly breeze. She turned away, and noticed the shirt that she clung to her body. She quickly put it on, and turned back to the man.

"W-who are you!?" She cried out, terrified. Flare simply stared at the girl, unnerving her even more. After almost five seconds of Flare not doing or saying anything, just staring, he finally decided to speak. He flicked on the voice modulator on his helmet.

"What is your name?" Flare asked, his voice coming out distorted and deep.

"I-it's Ce-Cerulea." She stammered, abject terror on her face.

"Why are you here?" Flare asked.

"I…" She stopped talking, looking at her feet.

Flare decided to amend the question. "What are you guarding?"

She looked back at him, still terrified. He had chosen the right person to interrogate. "We-we're guarding the st-staging area over th-there." She stammered, pointing in the direction of the facility.

"When do you check in?" Flare asked, tone still altered.

"Ea-each day, at n-nine in the e-evening." She was looking around for a clock.

Flare checked his HUD clock. It was only six in the evening, so he had some time.

"Why did you join the White Fang?" He asked the hardest question to answer truthfully.

She was silent. He could tell she was thinking.

"I joined the White Fang to get revenge on the people that took everything from me." She said. She didn't stutter, didn't look scared, she just stared angrily at Flare. He was surprised. He'd expected the typical response of a revolutionary-turned-terrorist.

"What was taken from you?" Flare asked, genuinely curious.

"Why should I tell you?" Cerulea asked back angrily.

Flare just looked at her and cocked the hand cannon, which had Cerulea blanch.

"I lost my mother, my father and my sister, and I lost my wings." She explained.

Flare realised what the nubs on her back were. Flare looked away for a moment, then looked back at the wingless faunus, who had kept talking.

"We only ever found the bodies of my mother and father, so if I find the bastards who did this I'll find out what happened to her, and then I will end them!" She was getting a little too antsy for a prisoner, so Flare stood up. She stopped talking, and remembered her fear.

Flare switched to his comms, and spoke. "Tera, I have a prisoner, I'm inbound. Location?"

He heard Tera speak back, voice slightly robotic through the comms. "Head to where we were, then head west till you find us. Have fun, boss."

Flare turned to Cerulea, switching back to his normal speaking mode on his helmet. "Either you come with me silently or I force you to come silently. Your choice."

She nodded, and Flare walked over to her. She looked up at him, confused, when the swift strike connected with the back of her head. She hit the floor, unconscious for the second time.

Flare heaved, and lifted her onto his shoulder in a fireman's carry, and began making his way to his team and their camp.

* * *

 **Hello all. Yes. I did have to replay the first level of Destiny to remember how that went down. Also, holy shit ex-bird faunus, what? Considering how RT are yet to do that, although with volume 5 around the corner, the amazing new Blake trailer, and the probable White Fang takeover arc, that might change. I wanted to do a bird faunus, but wings are actually pretty OP, so for a small guard-turned-prisoner, that was a little over-the-top. Please, if you think you know what's going to happen in the next chapter, leave a review and tell me. Go on, try it.**

 **Another thing, if you think this is a little ooc for Flare, bear in mind, we've never actually seen him against any enemies besides Grimm, and Torchwick when he fought with Ruby. Had he not been as preoccupied with protecting her, we might've seen a different fight scene. He is in mission mode, something he has done before, just a lot more subtly.**

 **For those of you who have seen my profile, you may notice that I am planning three other fanfics. None of these are destiny crossovers, but they are all based on RWBY. For your enjoyment, here is a snippet from the first chapter of** _ **The Rose has Thorns and a Sniper Rifle**_ **. Warning, a little more violent than GoaNL right now.**

* * *

 **Two Months Ago**

Thomas Greene was a pretty normal guy, in the grand scheme of things. Yeah, he wasn't a _nice_ person, but hey, in this line of work no one really was. Thomas was currently holding a small Uzi, gripped loosely in his hand. He was as well trained as a ten-year-old when it came to using it, but the man who hired him to guard the drug deal wasn't looking for skill. And that, in a nutshell, was exactly what Thomas was. Muscle.

At least, that was what he was until the .338 Lapua Magnum round tore into the upper left of his skull and exited the bottom right, flanked with chunks of flesh, shards of bone and gooey blobs of grey matter. One second he was Thomas Greene the muscle, next he was Thomas Greene the corpse. Thomas' last thought was 'I wonder if I left the stove on. Thomas hadn't had the most brainpower whilst it was _in_ his head, even less now that it splattered the pavement like a depressing Jackson Pollock piece.

A second shot, another dead hopeless thug with nothing to live for.

Three more shots and suddenly the parking structure was devoid of life. Five corpses, all laid, in various states of cranial stability, around and in one black SUV. Tinted windows, too, because what better way to be inconspicuous. The small girl in red stole her way into the structure, up the ramps, and over to the vehicle. She was careful not to leave any bootprints in the blood and viscera, which was rather difficult, and opened the vehicle's passenger door, taking note of the handcuffs that were attached to the briefcase that was her goal. Sighing, she drew a knife from her belt and began to saw away at the wrist the handcuffs were attached to.

Forty five seconds of sawing and she had severed the hand, slipping the cuff off of it.

The small girl in red walked out of the parking structure, briefcase in hand, large high-caliber sniper rifle slung over her shoulder.

If only all her jobs went that smoothly.

* * *

 **Thanks all, expect** _ **The Rose has Thorns and a Sniper Rifle**_ **to come out reasonably soon, I just need to figure out where I'm going to take it.**

 **Thank you, and I'll see you next chapter (In like, a week, maybe sooner, maybe later. Big action scene, so it might take me some time to write.)  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	8. Chapter 8: Circumstances

**A/N: Hello all, It's AFatFlyingWhale. How y'all doing? I've been fine, just enjoying writing. A lot of character's are going to be semi-introduced in this chapter, and a lot of shit is gonna happen. I tried a few new things, and now regret trying a lot of new things, but hey, this fic is just me experimenting with writing, so eh. Enjoy, and please review, and as always; (Disclaimer: I Own Nothing.)**

* * *

Flare arrived at the camp, and unceremoniously dumped Cerulea onto the ground, her arms splayed. He was lucky she hadn't woken whilst he'd been travelling, as the remainder of FLIT had played it safe, almost an hours trek from the guardpost.

Lillith moved over to take a look at the girl. "Don't we need to tie her up, or something? I've never really taken a prisoner before." She looked at Flare.

Flare took off his helmet, grabbing the drink offered to him by Iren. He nodded thanks, downed the bitter coffee, and turned to Lillith. "She's far too scared of me to run."

Lillith blanched. She had never seen this side of Flare. She was suddenly scared to ask her next question. She shook off the fear, and asked anyway. "What happened to the other ones?"

Iren looked at Flare, anxious to hear his response. Lillith looked scared.

"I killed them. We can't afford to compromise the mission." Flare said, expression still and calm.

Lillith stumbled back, and Iren's eyes widened.

Flare sighed. "Look, it's not like I enjoy killing sentients. The Vale government has them branded terrorists, with a kill order for huntsman. Just because I'm in-training doesn't mean I'm not going to follow their orders. You don't have too, though. This isn't my first field op."

Lillith stared at the ground. Iren spoke up. "Their reasoning for terrorism is far more validated than simply inspiring terror for the sake of it."

Flare looked pointedly at his friend. "It is, at the core, terrorism. Fear achieves dominance, not equality. The White Fang are going about it all wrong."

Iren sighed, nodding in agreement with that statement. "Look, do you really think they deserve to die because of their beliefs?" He asked.

"No one deserves to die for their beliefs. But many of the White Fang deserve punishment for their _actions._ No one should die for someone _else's_ beliefs either." Flare replied, voice still devoid of emotion.

This time it was Iren who looked at the ground. It was Lillith who spoke. "So, why not her?"

Flare looked at Cerulea, before speaking. "Three reasons. First being I needed information, second being she can check in so we remove the guardpost and still maintain secrecy, and third because..." He stopped to think. "Because she looks kinda like Tera."

Iren looked up from the ground and stared at Cerulea, whose form was still lumped on the ground. Lillith joined the two's gaze, and the three considered it. Sure she had gold tipped hair, but hers was coloured like her namesake, cerulean, unlike Tera's vibrant, almost lime green. Sure they had similar facial features, and if Tera dyed her her blue she would look very close, but there were a few differences. The main being that this girl was a bird faunus.

Iren and Lillith shared a glance, whilst Flare was distracted. Their thoughts mirrored each other. 'Could it really be?'

* * *

Tera had been gone for camp for a reason. Sure, Flare was being all 'super serious ninja mode', but the rest of the team weren't one thing Tera was brilliant at, which surprised a lot of people, was hunting for food. She'd had to do it quite often while she was on the run. Flare might say that he hadn't gone to a huntsman academy before this year, but Tera hadn't gone to a school for at least a year before she attended Beacon. She wasn't stupid, she had attended school, and her older sister had always made sure that she didn't struggle, but the loss of her family had been a big hit to her, and surviving in the badlands had been agonisingly difficult, but she had picked up quite a few skills a lot of the city kids couldn't say they had ever even tried to learn.

It helped that she was faunus, not that Flare knew that. She trusted her team, but she was unsure how her mysterious team leader would handle it. Her previous team leader hadn't handled it at all. In fact, he'd threatened her. Lillith had to physically restrain her partner, and Iren had to prevent Tera from tearing the asshole's head off. He'd abandoned what was then known as Team Blight.

She was lost in thought, but that wasn't to say she wasn't aware. That was proven when a deer practically strolled right past her. She nocked an arrow, carefully aimed, and loosed. The arrow flew true, striking into the head of the deer, quickly ending it's life.

She dropped off the little ledge she had been stood on, and she walked towards the deer. She approached it, and withdrew her arrow from its skull. She quickly used her aura-enhanced strength to lift the deer over her shoulders, and began to make the trek back the the camp. They would eat well tonight. Nothing like venison to wash away the taste of MREs.

Tera parted a stray branch and approached the campsite.

"Hey guys, look what I found!" She called out, and proceeded to frown when there was no response. "Oi." She called out again. Still no response. She walked up and rounded the rock that they had set up camp against.

The campsite was empty. Their packs were strewn across the ground, MREs scattered across the dirt, a few lying open.

The most important detail, however, was also almost easy to miss; the bloodstain on the rock.

Tera spoke aloud. "What happened?"

* * *

Iren woke with a start, quickly checking his surroundings. He was chained to a chair in the center of a dimly lit room. With a second more of observation, he noticed a shadowy figure standing by the only door, armed with an amalgamation of sword-slash-rifle.

The figure didn't move nor did he react to Iren awakening. A second later, the figure gave one single knock on the door. It swung open, and in walked a bull faunus, hair brown with red flecks. He withdrew his sword from its sheath, and laid it edge-first against Iren's throat. As he did so he leaned in close, and Iren noticed the details of his mask, the white lined with red.

"What is your name?" The faunus asked, blade gleaming red.

Iren stared at him, and after what seemed an eternity, felt the blade press hard against his neck. He could feel his aura fluctuating against the pressure, trying to prevent the blade from piercing the skin.

"Iren." He choked out, finally. The pressure lessened slightly, but it did not go away. The blade was still there.

"Why are you here?" Came the next question, and Iren knew he had to think quick. If he told the truth, the faunus would kill him without a second thought, but if he lied and was caught, the same thing would happen.

"We were sent out to eliminate Grimm, as a part of our second year of Beacon." Iren replied. He knew that the best lies were the ones based in truth.

"If that is true, why did you attack one of our guardposts?" The bull-man asked, sword still against Iren's throat.

"I didn't." Came the swift response, and the faunus swung a backhand, smacking Iren.

"I know you are lying. Don't try that again." The faunus said, and Iren could tell he was glaring at him from underneath the mask.

Suddenly, the door was swung open, a breathless White Fang grunt at the door. "Boss, we've got a problem. The other girl woke up."

"And why is this a problem?" Asked the leader, as he sheathed his chokutō.

Suddenly everyone in the room flinched, and the only thing that could be heard was screaming.

* * *

Suddenly, he felt himself in agony. The purest, sheerest, most unadulterated pain he had ever experienced. It burned. It seared. It coursed through his veins like white-hot fire. He tried to scream but the pain was so immense, so immeasurable that he could barely breath, let alone expel air through his vocal cords. It lasted for almost an entire minute, though it seemed like a year, before he collapsed, vision black as the void consumed his mind. Blissful unconsciousness.

The second guard was smart enough to run out of the room.

The final guard was less fortunate. He screamed, louder than any had thought possible. The pain was in his head, and it tried to escape, as the guard clawed at himself, trying to end the agony. He collapsed, still screaming, as he clawed at his head, leaving bloody trails of broken skin and severed flesh. He spasmed on the ground, before finally coming to a stop.

Lillith opened her eyes, and proceeded to vomit, the sight of the mutilated faunus in front of her proving too much for her to handle. She coughed and spat, trying to clear the foul taste from her mouth. The door had been left open, and Lillith tried to edge herself, and the seat she was chained to, towards the opening, but it was to no avail. The chair was bolted to the ground. She looked up at the door, and whimpered. She could practically taste the freedom.

Then the most unexpected face rounded the corner.

* * *

Tera laid down atop the cliff, and watched. She didn't have to guess where the White Fang had taken them. Their base sat down across from the cliff, in a clearing. The base looked like an old Great War relic, the majority of the walls old but still solid. The ones that had crumbled from age had been rebuilt, the new bricks and cement easily visible.

It wasn't going to be easy to get in. From the massive turrets on the walls to the patrolling faunus guards, Tera had a large amount of work ahead of her. She had tried the comms, but there was no response from Lillith or Iren, and the only thing she got from Flare was silence, interspersed with the occasional cough or faint talk, too faint for her to make out.

She had a few options to sneak in, but they all needed the White Fang to be pretty bad at spotting her. Considering they were all faunus, this was going to be rather difficult. She needed a distraction. Something big and loud.

It was with this thought that a massive explosion went off in the west corner.

"That'll have to do." She said to herself, before leaping down.

* * *

Flare woke up, his vision blurry. He coughed, and blood spattered out of his mouth. He spat the remainder out, and noticed that he was completely alone. He could see a desk on the far end of the room, with his helmet sat atop it.

The door next to the desk opened. In walked a tall man, wearing what seemed to be a black trenchcoat, covered in dark metal plating. On his head he wore a mask, completely black, with no definition to it at all. It was completely rounded, with no lenses or glass. Just solid metal.

A second figure, dressed exactly the same as the first, walked in, and closed the door. Flare could tell that this one was female.

"What is your name?" The first figure asked, voice robotic.

Flare looked up at the flat metal of the mask, and made no move to speak. A large metal needle suddenly buried into his shoulder, and Flare cried out in pain.

"We know you don't have aura. What is your name?" The figure drew the needle out of Flare's side slowly, the sharp pain lancing through his nerves.

"Flare." He said, not letting the pain show in his voice.

"Hmm. Were you the one that eliminated the guardpost?" The man asked.

Flare looked up at the mask, and nodded.

The needle struck his left arm, sparking as it penetrated the cloth that comprised his armor.

"I believe that is all we have time to ask of you right now." The man said, as the woman looked to the side, obviously receiving a communication. He withdrew his needle, and placed it in a sheath filled with similar metal spikes.

The two left the room, leaving Flare to sit, chained to a chair, in the cold dim room.

"Vier. You there?" He asked the empty room.

"Of course, Guardian." The ever-present ghost responded.

"How's about some air support, buddy."

* * *

The last person Lillith had expected was the girl they had taken prisoner.

"I don't know what you did, but you've certainly grabbed some attention. Here." Cerulea quickly walked behind Lillith, avoiding looking at the two guards on the floor. She unlocked the chains, and Lillith quickly stood up, rubbing her wrists.

"Why would you help me?" Lillith asked the masked girl.

"You said my sister's name. I have no idea how you know that, but I can't have you die without figuring that out first." Cerulea said, handing the smaller girl her pistols. "Come on, we need to go _now._ "

The two girls quickly ran out of the room, Cerulea in the lead.

"We need to rescue my friends." Lillith said, as the two rounded the corner.

"We'll go for the big man first, that was where that guard was headed. They will leave him, and then we can free him." Cerulea said, before quickly pulling Lillith into a small unused room, and the two could hear a plethora of footsteps rushing past.

The two waited a moment, then ducked out, sneaking towards where Cerulea knew Iren was being held.

The two rounded the corner, as the door to his cell was kicked open.

* * *

The second after the screaming, Iren was left alone as everyone in the room decided to investigate the newfound problem.

They'd had the forethought to shut and lock the cell door, but that mattered little to him. Iren placed his hands against the metal of the chains that bound him to the chair, and focused.

He willed his aura, and his semblance quickly took hold, the metal of the chains rusting away, flakes of red splintering off and showering the filthy stonework as the chain rusted.

After a few moments, the chain shattered, shards of rusty metal covering the ground. Iren quickly stood up, and grabbed his greatsword from where it was leaned against the wall.

He touched the lock and the hinges of the door, rusting them, before backing up and delivering a powerful kick. The door flew off, shattering both the hinges and the lock, and hit the far side of the corridor. Iren stepped out and turned, only to see Lillith and the White Fang prisoner they had taken.

"Iren?!" Lillith exclaimed, surprised. She then quickly turned to Cerulea. "Where are they holding Flare?"

Cerulea recovered from the surprise of Iren easily breaking out. "Down the other end, but he was being interrogated by some of Adam's partners. We can't get to him easily, not without a distraction."

Lillith turned to Iren. "Iren, can you make a distraction? We'll take care of freeing Flare."

Iren nodded, before setting off down the corridor, in the opposite direction of the way the two girls had come.

He made it ten feet before a sudden explosion knocked the three of them off their feet. The situation was made even worse when an alarm started blaring loudly.

"Who you think that was?" Lillith asked, as she stumbled up from the ground.

"Whoever it was, that serves as a pretty good distraction. That impact was pretty close, we should go." Cerulea said as she climbed up.

"I'll head outside still, try and secure us an escape." Iren said, lifting his sword from where it fell.

Iren ran down the hallway, all attempts at stealth thrown out the window. After a minute of running, he breached the complex hallways, reaching the open air of the outside. He could see a group of White Fang soldiers running towards the main gate, where he could hear the sounds of gunfire.

The rear of the soldiers noticed his approach, rounding on him. They aimed their rifles, and dust rounds began streaming out, the staccato of gunfire echoed by the sounds of metal pinging against metal as Iren split his sword, his dual blades spinning as the big man deftly deflected the bullets. He kept approaching, and he could see the frontline begin to backup, backs pressed against backs as the two sides were caught between the twin attacks.

Iren got close, and the soldiers all form-shifted their weapons, various blades and blunted weapons forming. Iren stepped close, and struck, his two swords swinging in tandem. He cleaved his way through the faunus soldiers, and he could see the other attacker doing the same. The two defeated the group.

"Glad to see you, Tera." Iren said, looking at the smaller girl.

"Where the fuck have you guys _been?_ What happened?" She asked, glaring at Iren as she hooked her daggers to her belt.

"Not now. Do you have the flare-gun?" He asked, looking at her.

She passed it over, and Iren fired it, the flare arcing into the sky, trailing red smoke.

"We need to keep the courtyard secure. C'mon." Iren said, dropping the spent gun, drawing his sword.

"How long a wait do you reckon it'll be?" Tera asked her partner.

"I'd say five, maybe ten minutes. That explosion probably tipped Nick off, anyway." Iren replied, looking towards the drifting smoke.

"How'd you do that?" Tera joined Iren looking at the smoke.

Iren looked back at his teammate in surprise. "We didn't."

* * *

"He should be just down this hallw-" Cerulea began to say, before she rounded the corner.

Lillith joined her, wondering what interrupted her, when she too stopped.

The entire hallway was on fire, the sky visible through the remains of the ceiling. The rubble that covered the remains of the hallway made it virtually impassable. The entire wreckage was centered around one point.

"Th-that's the door." Cerulea stammered out. Lillith just ran towards it, stumbling through the rubble. She felt the fire burn as her aura was overwhelmed, but she dismissed the straining feeling. She knew her aura wouldn't last, but that was the last thing on her mind.

She forced the door open, and saw Flare. He was sat on the ground, left arm a shattered wreck of metal. He looked up at her, and laughed.

"Hey, Lil. My plan kinda backfired a little, no pun intended." He said, as she stumbled in.

She looked at him, and took in the details. He was severely injured, right shoulder bleeding, massive gashes on his chest, left arm ruined, and shrapnel embedded all over him. Next to him laid his weapon, and his helmet sat in his lap.

"What the hell did you do?" She asked, surprised this had been his plan.

"I, uh, asked a friend for some fire support." He said with a weak chuckle, before spitting up blood.

She looked at him with consternation, but placed her hand against his chest.

"Here, let me infuse you with some of my aura. That'll help." She said, before his one working arm pushed hers aside.

"Don't worry." Flare said, before placing his helmet on his head. He struggled to stand up, but managed to do so. "Relax, I'm tougher than I look." He said, as Lillith looked concernedly at him.

He then followed up the statement by collapsing, unconsciousness taking hold. He hit the ground with a thump, and Lillith quickly rushed to his side. She lifted him, and began to half-carry-half-drag him out the door.

Cerulea had been spending her time doing her best to put out the fires in the direct path to the cell door. She had been mostly successful, but when she noticed Lillith and Flare, she quickly rushed over to help. The two managed to carry Flare, with Lillith having attached Infinite Solution to Flare's back, out of the burning rubble and through the maze-like hallways. They hadn't run into any problems, luckily, but that streak ended the moment they got outside.

Iren and Tera were fighting on the far end of the courtyard, barely holding off the one man that was relentlessly attacking them. He was alternating between Iren and Tera, blocking one blow and striking the other, keeping both off their toes as the hits came fast and lethal.

His single amalgamated rifle-longsword was being swung in unique ways, the pommel being used as as much a weapon as the blade itself. Each strike Iren or Tera would block simply led to a reverse strike on the other, and the two were completely on the defensive.

Lillith left Flare in Cerulea's arms, and joined the fight. Aiming her pistols, she unloaded the magazines, rounds spitting out. The masked man responded by leaping out of the fray, quickly blocking the bullets. He form-shifted his weapon, and began to return fire. Iren stepped in front, blocking the bullets, their high caliber pushing him back. Tera leaped back, forming her bow, and began sending arrows at the masked man. He swiftly dodged the arrows, stepping around the impacts as he fired at Iren. Iren stumbled, guard broken, as the bullets proved to be too much for him. Lillith stepped close, weapons forming into their half-chakram forms.

She struck low, and was blocked by the blade of the rifle-sword. She quickly readjusted, flipping up and over, one half-chakram back to a pistol. She began to fire the one pistol even as she sliced with the other, and the masked figure began to lose ground. He backed up a step, and a needle struck Lillith in the back, sending her stumbling away. Iren quickly stepped in to engage the swordsman, and Tera turned her attention to the rapidly approaching three figures. The one leading the charge had one hand outstretched, and she could see the needles in his other hand. The second figure, another masked man, was closing in, close behind the first. He was wearing gauntlets, one red, the other blue. Tera began firing her arrows at the figures, and the third figure quickly disappeared, reappearing on the wall above her. The first flung a needle, but was blocked by the sudden appearance of a severely injured Flare. He couldn't muster up the strength to block it, and it stuck into his injured shoulder. He dropped to one knee, and drew his hand cannon. He rounded and began firing at the masked woman at the top of the wall, and Tera began firing her arrows at the two approaching figures.

The one with the needles dove to the side to avoid the incoming projectiles, and the second kept charging, before he leapt into the air, and swung a heavy gauntleted hand down, a stream of fire spraying out. Flare quickly grabbed Tera, and the two blinked to the other side of the courtyard, Flare stumbling on the landing. Tera quickly reacquired her targets, and continued firing her arrows. Flare, however, hit the ground. He had used the very last of his energy, and was once again unconscious.

Cerulea hadn't been standing around when Flare had disappeared from her grasp. She quickly stood up and drew her weapon, the gleaming blade of her Nagamaki shining in the sunlight. She quickly ran in, and began striking at the masked swordsman. The masked man buckled under the combined sword skills of Iren and Cerulea. Lillith used this break to begin firing at the now unoccupied needle-wielder.

The sounds of the battle and the alarm were suddenly overwhelmed by the sound of a rapidly approaching bullhead. It air-braked, it's doors opening, and hovered in the center of the courtyard.

Iren and Cerulea both sliced at the swordsman, one high, one low, driving him back. The two quickly headed for the bullhead, and Lillith joined them, scanning the battlefield for any pressing targets. Tera quickly picked up Flare, lifting him in a shoulder carry, and sprinted as fast as she could towards the bullhead. The masked figures didn't pursue, however. They were to busy being occupied by the sudden approach of six giant nevermores.

"COME ON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WE HAVE TO LEAVE!" Shouted a voice from the interior of the bullhead, and the four climbed in, Tera tossing Flare inside.

"We're in, go go go!" Lillith called, the last in. The bullhead's doors slid closed, and it's thrusters flared, the bullhead taking off into the sky.

"How the hell did you manage that?" Nick asked, his head peering out from the cockpit.

Lillith just sat back, panting. Iren looked at Flare, concerned. Tera was far too busy to answer as she just stared at Cerulea, who stared back.

"Tera?"

"Cerulea?"

The two asked at the same time, eyes widening. They quickly got up, and grabbed each other in a massive hug. Lillith laughed, and even Iren had to chuckle. In the stress, neither had noticed the other, and now they finally had.

Whilst the two hugged, Lillith crawled over to where Flare was lying, to check if he was awake. What she found was not good.

His condition had worsened. He was half-covered in blood, but he was breathing, however shallow. He had a long metal needle buried in his shoulder, just above the previous puncture wound. His chest and legs were peppered with shrapnel, the fabric of his armor torn. His left arm was completely missing. He was covered in gashes, and he was losing blood fast.

"Nick, we need to get to a hospital ASAP!" Lillith called out. She felt the bullhead buck underneath her.

"Well, that'd be easier if you hadn't brought an entire _legion_ of grimm down on us!" Nick called out, the pilot struggling as Cerulea and Tera were broken out of their hug by the sudden shift of tension, and the fact that the bullhead flung itself sideways. "Those giant nevermore you attracted are following us! Anyone with ranged weaponry, fire at 'em!" He shouted over the sound of wind, as the side doors opened.

Lillith and Tera began firing, one each side, hitting the giant monster-birds. From where they sat inside the bullhead, they could see that only two had followed them. The majority of the grimm had continued their assault on the White Fang base.

It was then that the massive black feather penetrated the top of the bullhead, it's tip tearing through the metal and ending in the cockpit.

"Oh shit." Iren cursed, as he grabbed the side of the bullhead, steadying himself as the vehicle began to plunge.

"Nick, we good?" Tera called out, to no avail. The pilot didn't respond, and Tera peered inside the cockpit. A massive spray of arterial blood covered a majority of the instruments, and what wasn't covered in blood was sparking.

Tera backed up out of the cockpit, and shouted.

"We're going down!"

* * *

 **Oh shit, a lot happened this chapter. I was gonna split the chapter into two, but I decided against it. The fight scene isn't my best, but trying to figure out a fight between NINE people is kinda more difficult than I thought it would be. This ought to be a good read, though, so please review it, I need all the advice I can get. Also, I've kinda already decided how the pairings are going to be, but hey, I can be convinced to change my mind.**

 **Next chapter in a week, hopefully. Can't leave this cliffhanger for too long, you know.  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	9. Chapter 9: Rescue

**A/N: What up y'all. Few notes before we begin. Number one is that I bit off way more than I could chew in regards to fight scenes in this chapter, so sorry if it seems a little underwhelming. Hope this holds up to the cliffhanger I set in the last chapter. Also, please read the end AN, they are rather important concerning the updating schedule of this fic. Lastly, like usual; (Disclaimer: I Own Nothing)**

* * *

"Ms Rose, Mr Arc, I am sorry to have to ask this of you, but your teams are the best chance we have of success. I need the two of you to lead your teams into Quadrant 2, on a rescue mission."

Ruby and Jaune's eyes widened at this.

"Who are we rescuing, sir?" Ruby asked, hands clenched.

"Team FLIT." Ozpin said, looking between the two first year team leaders.

* * *

 **One Day Ago**

Lillith opened her eyes. She hurt all over, and she couldn't remember why. No, she could, now that she thought about it. Crashing in a bullhead wasn't a fun thing to do. She could hear voices over the buzzing.

"Lillith, come on! We need help here!"

She couldn't put the voice to a name, but then she could. Why would Iren need help?

She sat up. She noticed the grimm. She drew her weapons.

Iren was swinging, but she could see the fatigue in his swings. He hit the beowolf, head splitting open. He wrenched his large blade out of it, ducking under the swing of another. It's head was cut off when Cerulea swung her weapon, in it's Naginata form. She ducked back as Tera vaulted over the wreckage of the bullhead.

"We need to get moving, fast. There are too many to fight, and Flare isn't getting any better." Tera said, firing her last arrow over the bullhead, an ursa collapsing against the wreckage.

"Tera, Cerulea, you two need to lead, Iren, you take Flare, I'll take the rear." Lillith ordered, taking command.

The four, plus the unconscious Flare, began slowly making their way southeast, carving through the number of grimm. It was slow going, and now with the entire team out of ammunition, it was a hard slog. Their aura's were low, they were tired, hungry, and Flare's condition was only worsening.

Nearly nine hours of trekking through thick wilderness and grimm, and they reached the best location for a camp they had seen thus far. A cave, carved into the side of a massive cliff face, about thirty feet above the ground.

The group scaled the sheer rock face, using Iren to cut ledges with his broadsword. He was the last up, and he managed to climb up, with Flare slung over his shoulder.

The cave itself went deep, far deeper than any of them had expected. They were far too exhausted to explore.

"That's it, I'm beat. Who's on watch?" Lillith asked, looking around. No one spoke up for a few moments, before a cough was heard.

"Me." Everyone turned to stare at the now awake, coughing figure sat against the cave wall.

"Flare, you're awake! Are you okay?" Lillith rushed over to her partner, to have him look at her and laugh.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly healthy." He said sarcastically, before coughing up blood.

"Sorry, stupid question." Lillith said, and Flare laughed again.

"Look, I'm in a serious amount of pain, so I'll take watch. I'm not going to be good for anything else. All of you get some sleep." He said, and the group refused to argue, quickly laying on the ground and drifting off. Lillith lay next to Flare, and he kept his eyes open as the light of the morning began to set in. His HUD clock read that it was early morning, around four.

"Vier, you there bud?" Flare asked over his internal comms.

"Guardian, finally! I've been trying to wake you for some time." Vier said, the chill down Flare's spine causing him to twitch in agony.

"Sorry, Vier. We aren't out of the woods yet, can you get a distress signal out yet?" The injured guardian asked.

"I'm afraid that that simply isn't that easy at the moment. I have already sent a distress signal to the headmaster, but the location I included was where the bullhead crashed. Whoever makes it there will have to track us from that point. Also, I'm truly sorry about the explosion, Guardian." Vier said.

Flare laughed weakly. "Vier, let's just say that there is a reason why _I_ do the shooting and you the robot-y stuff."

"Indeed, Guardian." Vier said, and Flare felt the link disconnect as his AI partner began to make himself busy, no doubt parsing countless bytes of data.

"And now we wait." Flare said to himself, looking out the cave entrance.

* * *

When the evening arrived, the group of sleeping hunters-in-training, plus Cerulea, began to stir. Flare was still awake, and he watched as the group all regained consciousness.

"Morning, all. Well, not morning, but still." Flare said weakly, as they stirred.

"Urrgh… Note to self, find a more comfortable spot." Tera groaned as she sat up, rubbing the small of her back.

"I'm with you there." Cerulea said, as she stretched. Iren followed suit, stretching his aching back.

Flare noticed that Lillith had used him as a pillow. He nudged her.

"Huh, wha…" Lillith woke, blinking away the sleep.

"Wakey wakey." Flare said, and Lillith looked around, and noticed that everyone was staring at her. She scrambled up, blushing heavily.

Flare turned to the rest of the group. "So, we have some time to kill. Explain." He looked at Tera, his gaze hardening.

Tera kicked at the ground, dislodging a small rock, which was sent sailing into the depths.

"Either of you." Flare said, looking between Tera and Cerulea.

The two looked between each other, before Tera spoke up.

"Flare, this is my long-lost sister." She said, gesturing towards Cerulea.

"Yeah, I'd grasped that. Anything else?" Flare said, and Lillith put a hand on his shoulder. Flare winced in pain, but maintained his gaze.

"She and I are both faunus. Hawk faunus to be specific." Tera said.

"Right. I already knew that." Flare said. Tera stared at her team leader.

"You already knew?" She asked, unsure of how to react.

"I figured that out when you met each other. When I… Met Cerulea, I noticed that she had the remains of wings. I put two and two together when you two met." Flare said, before falling into a coughing fit. Lillith's hand steadied him.

Tera stumbled back a step, and her breathing returned to a more normal pace.

Flare finished coughing. He took his helmet off, and placed it to his side.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Flare asked, looking at his teammate.

"I…" Tera began to say, but Iren spoke.

"The last time she revealed her heritage to her team leader he abandoned us." He looked at Flare. "Considering how you cleared the guardpost, I'm not sure about that in regards to you."

Cerulea took the lull in conversation as her signal to speak. "Look, Flare. I don't know you. We first met when you woke me up and spared my life. The men I was stuck with weren't exactly great people, but they were still people. _However,_ they knew the risks of fighting as terrorists, freedom fighters, whatever you want to call them. I knew the risks too."

Lillith used this as her jumping point. "Look, Cerulea is right. We fight because we defend the innocent from evil. Whether the evil is terrorism, grimm, or crime, it doesn't matter. If we don't fight because of whatever reason, innocent people could die. It isn't about our own opinions, it's about the possibility of saving lives."

Flare nodded, and the five fell silent for a moment. Flare was the first to speak.

"Tera, I hope you realise that you are a part of my team. I may be the new guy, but I am still the leader. You will always have a place, regardless of who you are." He said, looking towards the green-tinted girl.

Tera's cheeks tinged a light pink, and she turned away. "Shutup, Flare."

Flare chuckled, before another coughing fit hit him. Something was wrong. Something felt… Different.

* * *

"So, what do we have to do again?" Yang asked, quirking her eyebrow at her younger sister.

"Professor Ozpin said that he received a distress signal from FLIT, and he doesn't have any second year teams to send to help, so both RWBY and JNPR got sent as a joint team." Ruby replied, sitting in the bullhead.

"Did Ozpin say what their mission was?" Blake asked, stretching her back muscles as she readjusted in her seat.

Ruby shook her head, and Yang looked at Blake. "Relax kitty cat, they probably just ran out of fuel or something. They had an experienced pilot, didn't they?"

Blake frowned at the nickname, something Yang had taken too ever since they had found out that Blake was a cat faunus.

"They had an experienced pilot, but the fact that they sent out a distress signal means that they are in serious trouble." Weiss said, shuffling in her seat. These military vessels were nothing like any Atlas craft she had been on.

"I'm sure they're fine, I mean, they are pretty good fighters." Jaune piped up.

"I've seen Flare fight, so I know he'll be the one I'm least worried about." Pyrrha said, sitting next to Jaune.

Ruby and Yang nodded agreeance to the statement, the three being the only members of RWBY/JNPR that had seen Flare fight.

A voice came over the intercom of the bullhead. "Teams, we are ready to drop on their last known location. Landing now.

The bullhead's engines whined as the pilot expertly dropped the aircraft into a hovering position just above the ground. Seven of the eight members dropped out, and the eighth stumbled out. The aircraft pulled back up into the sky, and Ruby made sure that she had the flare gun strapped to her belt.

She looked over to the side where JNPR was standing, and noticed the three members standing around the fourth.

Jaune was half-crouched on the ground, letting loose his lunch. Ren and Pyrrha looked at him in sympathy, and Nora just looked in amusement. After ten seconds of Jaune evacuating his stomach, he stood up.

"Sorry, guys. I'm ready whenever you are." He said, looking over at Ruby.

Ruby had been nominated the leader of this operation, with Jaune as the second-in-command.

The teams scanned the area, noting the massive crater in the center of the clearing.

"JNPR, check the wreckage for survivors. RWBY, we'll go and look for tracks!" Ruby called, and the teams split, each headed for their own objective.

Jaune and his team skidded into the crater, all four of them actually managing to maintain their footing in the loose dirt.

"Pyrrha, can you open the door?" Jaune asked, and the warrior complied, her semblance bending the metal door back, tearing it from it's hinges. Jaune quickly climbed inside, looking for survivors. What he found would stick with him for a very long time.

The pilot's seat was shredded, and all that was left of the pilot was nailed to the bullhead by a massive feather. The pilot had been dead before he had been torn to shreds, but that didn't make it any less disgusting. The entire cockpit was coated in dried blood, with small chunks of flesh scattered across the instruments.

Jaune stumbled outside, glad he had already emptied his stomach. He dry-retched, and shook his head at his team.

"N-no survi-vors." He said between retches.

* * *

Team RWBY was having much better luck. Blake, as it turned out, was an expert in tracking, experience from her time in the White Fang.

"So, Blake, what do you think?" Asked her team leader, eyes shining with innocence.

"They definitely went this way. The wreckage of the plants means that they were fighting, probably grimm." Blake replied.

"So, we should probably follow their trail, right?" Yang asked, and Blake nodded.

"Yeah, but we should do it from the bullhead. Who knows how far they travelled." Weiss said, and Ruby nodded to her partner.

Team RWBY followed their leader back into the clearing, where JNPR was stood. Pyrrha had one hand on Jaune's back.

"Any survivors?" Ruby asked, but Ren shook his head, not meeting her eyes.

The eight stood in silence, before Ruby fired the flare gun into the air, signalling the bullhead for pickup.

Even as it hovered down, doors opening, neither team said anything. It just didn't seem appropriate.

Finally it was Ruby to break the silence, even if it was to inform their pilot of their heading.

"We're coming, FLIT."

* * *

Flare had fallen unconscious.

"Lillith, what the hell did you do?" Tera asked, staring at her friend as she shook Flare.

Lillith's eyes were wide, and she was frantic. "All I did was infuse some of my aura into him! Nothing like this should've happened!"

Iren quickly stepped forward, placing his hand against Flare's wrist. "He still has a pulse, but it's weak."

Cerulea was distracted. She could hear something, and she didn't like what she heard.

"Uhh, guys?" She called out, but the distracted team of hunters-in-training didn't pay any attention.

"Guys!?" She called out again, more urgently. Tera turned to look at her sister.

"OH SHIT RUN!" Cerulea screamed, bolting out the entrance to the cave.

Ever quick on the draw, Iren heaved Flare over his shoulders, and sprinted out, leaping down the thirty feet drop out the entrance of the cave, followed by Tera and Lillith.

The four kept running, Cerulea in the lead, before they turned and noticed why they had run.

It was the biggest deathstalker they had ever seen. It had a sickly greyish-green growth on it's tail where it's stinger should've been, and it's pincers were almost five times the size of Iren.

It screeched, a loud and horrific sound. It sounded as if it's vocal chords had been sliced in half, then re-stitched back together.

It stared at the group, it's eyes glowing a sickly green. It's tail curved over it's head, and it growled at them. The group backed up, and stared as the deathstalker's tail began to glow with a sickly green energy, before a massive bolt of electrical energy fired out, arcing towards the group.

They quickly overcame their initial shock at the fact that a _deathstalker had a gun_ , and quickly jumped out of the way as the blast hit, crackling energy lancing across the ground, scoring the ground.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?" Tera cried out, as she used a tree as cover, another blast hitting the ground where she was standing.

Lillith opened fire, her bullets striking against the deathstalker. Or at least, she thought they were.

The deathstalker wasn't affected by the bullets, as it's entire body glowed with an orange aura of flames. The bullets struck it and melted, searing heat radiating off the monster.

With Tera out of arrows, Iren and Cerulea without ranged weapons, and Flare unconscious, Lillith was worried. Her bullets were doing nothing, and they she couldn't hold the creature back for very long, and she was very low on ammo.

Then, all of a sudden, the group heard a most unexpected sound

* * *

"Pilot, down there!" Ruby called, leaning out of the open doors on the bullhead. She was pointing towards the cliff face, where they could see a massive deathstalker under fire from the trees.

The pilot decided to make a quick decision, considering how his passengers would be able to handle it.

"Quick delivery!" The pilot called over the intercom, and quickly turned the bullhead. The eight were flung out through the open door, with Jaune screaming in fear.

They flew across the sky and began their descent, all slowing themselves down in various ways.

Ruby flipped her scythe, balancing atop the blade as she fired, the recoil slowing her down.

Weiss created a series of glyphs beneath her, slowing her momentum.

Blake latched her ribbon around a branch of a tall tree, using it to reduce her velocity.

Yang used her gauntlets to propel herself, balancing with the recoil of her shotgun blasts.

Pyrrha used her semblance to slow herself down, creating a sort of telekinesis as she magnetized her armor.

Nora simply readied her hammer, in position to strike.

Ren prepared the blades on his SMGs, ready to latch them into anything to slow him down.

Jaune screamed as he flew through the air.

Seven of the eight hunters-in-training stuck their landings, rolling into place in front of the deathstalker, grabbing it's attention.

The eighth slammed into the ground and skidded, kicking up dirt.

"Ow…" Jaune moaned from the ground.

The deathstalker screeched at the new group, and turned, sickly green growth on it's tail realigning as it charged up.

"What kind of deathstalker is that?" Yang cried out as she opened fire.

The deathstalker answered with a massive bolt of energy, crackling as the very air around it burned and sizzled.

The group turned and leapt in all directions away from the sudden, unexpected projectile.

"Nice of you to join us!" They heard a voice call, and they turned to see Tera taking cover behind a boulder not too far from where the group had landed. Behind her was Lillith and a figure only Blake recognized.

Another impact shattered a tree to the left of the group, but Blake was focused on their somewhat new acquaintance.

"Cerulea?" The cat-girl queried, surprised.

"Blake?" The hawk-girl replied, just as surprised.

The two looked at each other for a split-second before another impact hit, the boulder shuddering as sparks and shards of rock were sent flying.

Iren stumbled back, into view of the group, with Flare slung over his shoulder.

The entire group were shocked to see the usually infallible guardian injured and unconscious.

"What happened!?" Ruby cried out in surprise.

"Now isn't the time!" Lillith replied, as she looked at her reinforcements. "We need to get the hell outta here! We can't fight that thing!"

Ruby nodded, grabbing the only remaining flare gun. "Come on, we need to get some distance from it!" She called out as she began to make her way away from the deathstalker, which continued it's barrage of their cover.

The twelve began to back away, using the trees as cover to block the shots of the deathstalker, with the thirteenth strewn across Iren's shoulders.

The had expected the deathstalker to chase them, but they hadn't expected it to be so _fast_. It gained on them rapidly, barreling through the tree trunks as it charged them.

The group returned fire the best they could, but most of the rounds simply struck the weird orange field that encompassed the monstrous scorpion creature.

However, their one reprieve was that the deathstalker was far less accurate whilst it was on the move.

"How the hell does this thing have an aura!?" Yang shouted out, as she fired a few shots at the monster.

"Don't know, don't care right now!" Tera responded as she ran, using her daggers to carve a easier path through the underbrush.

The deathstalker decided to join the conversation, roaring loudly. It fired again and again, it's bolts of energy colliding with trees, rocks and terrain.

It was after almost three minutes of running that the group breached the dense trees, the deathstalker still close behind. The group kept running, before a stray bolt hit next to Iren.

He was sent flying to the side, the energy lancing across both him and Flare. The group slowed to help, with Lillith and Tera going for their respective partners.

The deathstalker chose this moment to completely breach the trees, screeching loudly as it entered the clearing.

It stopped just in front of the group, and they came to a startling realisation. They were not getting away without a fight.

* * *

Jaune was a pretty smart guy. Sure, it didn't look like that from first glance, but when it came down to small details, he was generally pretty good at making sure he remembered them.

When he tossed a set of spare pistol magazines to Lillith, and a second quiver full of arrows to Tera, he knew he had made the right decision to take some from their room.

The two nodded thanks, with Tera slinging her spare quiver over her shoulder, and Lillith loading the magazines.

The twelve stood and faced the demonic scorpion monster, and readied themselves for what could be their last fight.

Even Jaune stood and faced it, outwardly doing his best to not show fear.

They all stood and waited for someone to make the first move, a temporary lull in combat.

The deathstalker looked at them, and they looked at it, staring each other down in a contest of wills.

The deathstalker, were it capable of thought, would have been surprised. It had 'thought' that it was going to make the first move, only to have a very high-powered bullet burrow straight through it's peculiar orange aura, hitting it straight in the eye. It screeched as it stumbled back, before a knife buried itself in it's side, electrical energy lancing throughout it's body. A second bullet hit, then a third, then a second knife embedded itself in it's tail.

Flare hadn't been given much of a choice. Half-conscious and guided by sheer willpower and anger, he could feel that something had awakened inside of him. This was… well, he couldn't describe it. It was unlike anything he had ever felt, and yet so familiar.

He had no idea how he was able to use Bladedancer and Gunslinger at the same time, but instinct told him he could, and so he followed instinct.

He drew Infinite Solution from it's magnetic holster on his back, and began to open fire. Each bullet smacked into the deathstalker, and he continued his approach, stepping in front of his team, in front of his friends. He continued the onslaught, and the deathstalker balked under the fire. It resolved itself quickly, however, tail whipping into position to fire another shot, before it was forced to back up, as more gunfire joined the fray. Sniper rounds, shotgun buckshot, pistol rounds and other bullets smacked into the creature and it stumbled backwards, tail swinging in all directions, pincers in front of it's face in order to prevent the bullets from taking out any more of it's eyes.

It couldn't prevent the arrow that thunked into one of eyes. It screeched in rage and agony, and began wildly firing it's tail in all directions.

Bolts of energy smacked into the ground, and the impacts fired up smoking dirt.

"Pyrrha, remember last time?" Jaune called out over the staccato of gunfire.

Pyrrha nodded, smiling, as she flung her shield at the deathstalker's tail. The shield flew through the air, before slicing into the tail just beneath the ugly growth.

The deathstalker screeched, still backing away from the massive influx of gunfire. The growth on it's tail dangled, glowing with electrical energy.

Flare realised something though the haze of pain that he felt.

"BACK UP!" He screamed, voice cracking as the agony of his vocal chords fed into his voice.

Flare stumbled back, as the group backed up as he had instructed.

The deathstalker screeched, sheer volume hurting their ears. It's injured tail continued to glow, getting brighter and brighter until suddenly…

There was no boom, no massive explosion, nothing. There was simply a massive flash of blue, and then nothing.

The deathstalker had disappeared, and with it the ground it had stood on. What remained was a scorched crater, in a perfect circle.

The group stared, unable to comprehend what just happened.

"Huh." Jaune said, and most of the group echoed his sentiment.

Flare responded by collapsing back into unconsciousness.

* * *

When Flare woke again, he was laying in what he assumed to be a hospital bed. It was dark, so he assumed that it was night time. He could barely see, but he could hear, and what he could hear brought a smile to his face.

He could hear breathing, close to him. He could feel the pressure of a hand on his, and he could just barely make out the slouched figure of the sleeping Lillith that sat in the chair that had been pulled up to the side of the bed. She was slumped across him, asleep.

He decided that waking her was a decidedly bad idea, and so he lay there and waited.

The morning came rather rapidly, and Flare was almost disappointed. It had been a few days since he'd been able to relax, and that was a luxury he rarely had time for even before his landing on Remnant.

Now that it was bright enough for him to see, he quickly checked himself, and the extent of his injuries.

What surprised him was that the only injury he could see was his missing cybernetic, if that even counted as an injury.

'Huh.' He mused to himself. He remembered something feeling different, but what it was he couldn't put his finger on.

In the past, the Traveller's Light had always healed him of any injuries the moment he arrived back at the tower, and his armor usually protected him from most external injuries. Since arriving on Remnant he had noticed the disconnect between himself and the Traveller, but that was simply due to distance. He was quite far, after all. He had put the thought to the side, but now that he thought about it, what was it that healed him now?

The answer came to him in a flash. Aura. Somehow, he'd unlocked his aura, and he had no idea how that had happened. He'd need to talk to someone experienced in it, probably Ozpin, but that still didn't answer most of his questions.

He couldn't remember how he'd even gotten captured in the first place, nor how they'd tracked him down.

He could barely remember his fight with the deathstalker, but the tail it had seemed familiar. He couldn't place it, but maybe Vier could.

Other things bugged him, too. He didn't know who the masked figures were, and they were an unknown quantity. He'd never read any reports on them, and he knew that if they had been around for awhile they wouldn't needlessly reveal themselves to him and his team, only to let them escape without really putting up much of a fight. That, and he couldn't shake the feeling that the female was familiar. The blinking, the weapon, it seemed so… natural.

"Flare?" He was startled out of his reverie as Lillith woke, looking up at him from where her head was laying, on his leg.

"Morning, partner." Flare said, voice hoarse. He supposed he hadn't spoken for a little while.

She shot up, eyes bright. "Flare! You're awake! Finally!" She wrapped him in a hug, and he was surprised.

"What do you mean 'finally'?" He asked, confused. He'd only been out for a day, right?

"Well, um, you've kinda been out for…" She trailed off, not meeting his eyes.

He grabbed her by the shoulder, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

"How long, Lillith." He asked, looking at her intently.

She shuffled in her seat, hands clasped together. "Five weeks." She said under her breath.

Flare let go of her, hand dropping by his side. He stared blankly.

"Five weeks." He repeated, unable to believe it.

Lillith nodded, picking up courage. "Yeah. Everyone has been checking in each afternoon, to see if you had woken up."

Flare pushed Lillith back, before he made to stand. Lillith blushed, and looked away. It occurred to Flare that all he had on was a hospital gown, but he really didn't care all that much. He swung both legs over the side of the bed, and took a step. He stumbled forwards, catching himself on some medical equipment.

Lillith quickly stood up to help, but he waved her off. He noticed one of the chairs had a Beacon uniform on it, and he recognized it as his. He grabbed it, before staggering into the adjacent bathroom to get changed.

Lillith patiently waited as Flare showered and dressed, walking more steadily out of the bathroom. He turned and faced her.

"How do I look?" He asked, and she looked him over.

The uniform fit him, even if certain areas of muscle mass were less defined, and his face looked more gaunt, eyes more sallow. His left sleeve was bundled up and tied off, and his right was rolled up to his bicep.

"Pretty good." She said, and he laughed.

"Pretty good for a guy who's been in a coma for five weeks. I'm starving." He said, rubbing his stomach. She smiled and stood up from the chair.

"Well, shall we go get some breakfast? That'll surprise everyone, they'll be getting there in a minute." She said, mirth in her voice at the thought of Flare just nonchalantly waltzing into the cafeteria.

Flare nodded, and opened the door, and she watched him frown as the little stump of what remained of his left arm moved.

"That was meant to be a 'after you' gesture, but I'm still missing an arm." He said good-naturedly. She smiled at him, and left, and he closed the door behind him, joining Lillith as the two walked towards the cafeteria.

"Damnit, I've missed out on so much homework haven't I." Flare moaned as he walked, the realisation hitting him. Even with Vier it would take him hours.

Lillith just chuckled as they walked.

* * *

The cafeteria was pretty busy for the morning, with a majority of students getting breakfast. The smell of pancakes wafted across, and Flare practically salivated. He walked past a group of students at a table, and completely ignored their stares. Lillith, however, noticed them.

Flare walked straight over to the tables of food, and grabbed a plate. With obvious experience, he balanced the plate in the crook of his arm, using his hand to expertly fling pancakes onto his plate, the skill catching Lillith off-guard. She had been about to offer to help, but it was apparent he didn't need help.

Lillith grabbed her own plate of pancakes, a load significantly less than Flare, and followed her leader as he sat in their usual spot. She joined him in her usual seat next to him, and the two began to eat, Flare with far more gusto than usual.

She could hear the muted whispers, the rumours being spread around about her team leader. She wasn't Tera, but even she just wanted to shout at them to shut up.

A hand on her thigh calmed her, and she noticed that Flare was looking at her.

"How come they don't bother you?" She asked quietly, as he removed his hand to continue eating.

"Because what could they possibly know that we don't?" He said matter-of-factly, and she realised the truth in what he had said. It didn't matter what they thought, because they weren't there.

Lillith felt a weight lift off her chest, one she hadn't even realised was there. Flare was back, and he was in good spirits despite what had happened to him.

She watched as Flare ate, and a thought occurred to her. How much did he remember? Not even she could figure out why her aura had caused him to collapse, and all the other things that had happened had been as yet unexplained. It confused her that he hadn't even asked, but maybe he just wanted to wait for the rest of FLIT to join him.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a shout.

"OI! CRIPPLE!"

She frowned as she turned to locate where the shouting was coming from, before she saw.

Flare also turned, because he knew exactly who was shouting at who.

Cardin stood at the other end of the cafeteria, flanked by his team. He was staring straight at Flare. He began marching towards him, and Flare stood up.

"What do you want, Cardin." Flare asked, tiredly. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Cardin.

"Why the fuck are you still in Beacon, huh?" Cardin asked, jabbing a finger into Flare's chest.

Flare, with his newfound aura, barely even registered the prod. He deigned not to answer Cardin.

"You're a cripple, cripple. Piss off!" Cardin said, this time shoving Flare.

Flare stepped back, and the shove gently slapped against his chest. Cardin looked positively pissed that Flare didn't seem affected. He obviously thought the recently comatose one-armed hunter-in-training-slash-guardian would be an easy target, considering his recent failures with all the other seemingly weak targets.

Flare wasn't going to deal with this, and he let his impassive mask slip. His eyes shone with fury, and Cardin realised far too late that he had walked himself into a situation he couldn't bluff or bluster his way out of.

Flare punched Cardin in the chest, his aura flaring as it took the hit. He was sent stumbling backwards when Flare caught his hair, near the base of his neck. His plate armor did nothing to protect his face as Flare kneed him in the face. Aura could only do so much, and he felt his nose break under the impact. Blood spraying out, he was released from Flare's grip. He stood up to face his opponent only to have his head be practically knocked into his stomach from the powerful axe kick that Flare delivered.

Cardin stumbled back, disoriented and afraid. His teammates decided now was the time to step in, only to be suddenly grabbed from behind. The three of the turned to see Yatsuhashi, Fox and Coco, all holding them. Velvet was the only one not holding someone, and Cardin noticed that the bunny-girl he had enjoyed bullying had a completely different look on her face.

She was _pissed_ , that was obvious. He had never seen the rabbit faunus angry, and this honestly terrified him. He was only a first year, and regardless of how strong he thought he was, he had just been thoroughly trounced by a quote-unquote cripple who had spent five weeks in a coma.

Now he was faced with an infuriated second year faunus with exceptional kicking prowess, he was seriously low on aura, and he had picked a fight with someone she was friends with.

The aura-reinforced kick hit him, and his squeal of agony was heard all around the school, as Velvet kicked him in his most vulnerable point.

Even Flare winced as he crumpled to the ground, whimpering. His three teammates quickly realised the situation their leader had dragged them into, and, once again, dragged the injured form of Cardin Winchester out of the cafeteria.

"Morning guys. Thanks for that." Flare greeted Team CFVY, who all gave their various greetings in return.

"By Oum that felt good." Velvet said, as she and her teammates continued off to fetch their breakfast. Coco looked at the bunny-girl, and smirked. "Good to see you up and about Flare!" Velvet called out as they retrieved their food.

"Good to be up!" Flare called out back, smiling.

Lillith was less happy. She had seen the slip, the drop of the mask. Something was bothering Flare, and she doubted he even knew what it was. It was concerning.

The thoughts were quickly placed in the back of her mind as a crowd of primarily first year students wandered into the cafeteria.

Team RWBY, JNPR, the remaining two members of FLIT and Cerulea all walked into the cafeteria, and subsequently noticed Lillith and Flare sitting in their usual spot.

Flare braced himself as he was suddenly knocked off his chair, the hug from Ruby expected but still painful.

"Ow." Flare said concisely, from where he lay on the ground.

Lillith bent over to help him up, lifting the ecstatic red-cloaked girl up off of him.

"Morning, all. What'd I miss?" Flare asked as he retook his seat.

"It's good to see you awake, Flare." Iren said, taking a seat.

"Yeah, have a nice nap, leader?" Tera asked, thumping him on the shoulder.

The rest of the group all greeted him, even Weiss being unseasonably warm towards him.

Cerulea was the only one who seemed a little awkward, although considering how they'd met, that was to be expected.

"So, Cerulea, what did Ozpin decide to do with you?" Flare asked the girl, attempting to put her at ease.

She leapt at the chance. "I've been placed as a reserve student. Basically means that I do the lessons you do, but I don't get placed with a specific team. I'm the reinforcements, so to speak."

Flare nodded along with the explanation. "It's good to have you with us, then." He said when she had finished, and she smiled.

"So, seriously, what'd I miss. I barely remember what happened outside of when I was conscious. Mostly." Flare asked, looking around at his companions.

"We'll have to tell you later, looks like you got Goodwitch hunting you down." Yang said, pointing towards the entrance to the cafeteria.

Beneath the archway stood the strict professor, staring directly at Flare.

Flare scratched at the back of his head with his only hand, before standing, looking at his pancakes, and making a split-second decision.

"I'll catch up with you all later then, huh." He said as he left, but not before he shovelled as much pancake into his mouth as he possibly could. Lillith laughed as she noticed the professor raise an eyebrow at the guardian's behaviour.

Flare waved goodbye as he walked towards the professor. He quickly swallowed the mouthful of pancakes.

"Morning, professor. I'm assuming I have a meeting with the headmaster?" Flare said, greeting the strict woman.

"Indeed, Mr Archid. This way, if you would." She said, before quickly making her way towards the elevator to Ozpin's office. Flare quickly fell into pace behind her, and the two made their way to the office.

* * *

"Good to see you up and about, Mr Archid." Ozpin greeted Flare as he entered the office just in tow of Glynda.

"Have you ever considered a parrot, Headmaster?" Flare asked sarcastically, smirking.

The professor returned the smirk. "Indeed, Mr Archid. So, I feel as if we need to talk about what happened to you."

Flare returned to a more serious mood, and nodded.

"Well, I'm glad to see you agree. So, first things first. Aura. You did not have it prior to your departure, correct?" Ozpin asked, sipping coffee from his mug.

"Yes sir, that is correct." Flare answered.

"Hmm." Ozpin mused, thinking. "It is possible for aura to unlock in life-threatening situations, but according to your partner, she fed you some of her own aura. It is possible that your own aura was unlocked by this, however it did seem to do a number on your body. The sudden change, the sudden influx of aura…" Ozpin trailed off.

"Sir, if that is the case that would explain the fact that I was able to use both Bladedancer and Gunslinger at the same time." Flare said, thinking back to the fragments of what he could remember of the deathstalker fight.

"Yes, that would be a reasonable explanation. Perhaps that is your semblance, perhaps it is something else. Your situation is rather unique, after all." Ozpin replied, smirking.

Something occurred to Flare. "Sir, the deathstalker. What were the reports on it?" He asked.

"Yes, I had a feeling that would be your next question. Your AI companion, Vier, has a theory on that." Ozpin said, and Vier suddenly materialised.

"Morning Vier. Good to see you kept yourself busy whilst I slept." Flare smiled at his companion.

"Good to see you up and about, Guardian." Vier replied.

"Squawk." Flare said, smirking.

Nonplussed, Vier quickly projected a holographic mockup of the deathstalker that they had fought.

"Huh." Flare said as he stared at it.

"Guardian, my theory lines up with your preliminary thoughts. This deathstalker appeared to have a Hive Knight Boomer in place of it's stinger on the tail." Vier said, hologram zooming in on the tail.

"Huh." Flare repeated, before the message truly sunk in. "The Hive are on remnant?" His head shot up and he stared at Ozpin.

"As far as my information network is concerned, no. However, I have reason to believe that there are, and I quote, _remnants_ of the Hive. We have found ruins all over remnant that Vier believes matches up with ancient Hive temples. However, all attempts to open them have resulted in failure." Ozpin said, and Vier brought up a holographic image of one such temple.

"So someone managed to open one." Flare said, half to himself.

"The last person in charge of the project went missing. Dr Merlot, his name was. Brilliant scientist, however he was… slightly unstable, as most geniuses tend to be. He was obsessed with studying the Grimm." Ozpin said.

"So you think that this Merlot guy figured out how to open one of these temples, and has somehow mutated the grimm into having Hive weaponry?" Flare asked, as he watched the headmaster sip from his mug.

"That is my current theory, yes." Ozpin replied.

"Do we have any leads on Merlot?" Flare asked.

"Unfortunately, no. As of right now, we also have no operatives who can specifically devote their time to tracking him down." Ozpin answered.

Flare frowned. "So, what. We just let him do whatever he wants until we can get an operative to find him?"

"That appears to be our only move, yes." Ozpin said, and he could hear that he wasn't happy about this either. "We have been on the defensive for quite some time now, and that will not change any time soon. We have our own threats to deal with, Mr Archid, and deal with them we must. Merlot is a smaller threat on the scale of which we are currently facing."

Flare just nodded. He was being ordered to stand down, he knew that.

"What about the masked hunters?" Flare asked, looking back at the headmaster.

"That is where this gets interesting. There has never, _ever_ , been a recorded case of these masked hunters before, and there have never even been any rumours about them in the criminal underground. They are a complete unknown as a group." Ozpin replied.

"As a group?" Flare picked up on the unique way of specification.

"There have been cases of previous experience with hunters that use the same weapons as the men you and your team faced. The only complete unknown was the woman." Ozpin explained.

"She never spoke. Even when I was being interrogated is was the man with the needles that was doing all the talking." Flare mused, remembering the pain of the needles as they were jammed into his shoulder. Another memory leapt into his mind, unbidden. He shook his head to clear it.

"She seemed familiar, as if we'd met before. I can't place it." Flare said, musing to himself.

"Well, Mr Archid, it would appear that we are done for today. I believe your friends are waiting for you, yes?" Ozpin asked, sipping from his mug.

"Yeah, thanks Professor. Um, what day is it today?" Flare asked, scratching the back of his head.

Ozpin smiled. "Today is saturday, Mr Archid."

"Thanks Professor." Flare said as he left the office.

* * *

The crowd of people at the shuttle bay of Beacon was massive. It was common for teams to head down to Vale on the weekends to relax and get errands done, but it was rather uncommon for thirteen people to all go together.

Flare was practically ushered through Vale, towards a pleasant little coffee shop that both Blake and Weiss frequented, by the name of Bean There, Drank That, which made Flare smirk.

With a bit of effort, the group secured a few tables, pushing them together to form a long table, and all thirteen sat down, and began to enjoy their saturday.

"So, now that I can finally talk without being pulled away by a teacher, what'd I miss?" Flare asked, smirking as he watched Lillith stare at the menu in awe.

"Honestly, you didn't miss all that much. The biggest thing, well, I'll leave to Blake." Tera said, looking towards the younger girl.

Blake sighed, stiffened, then relaxed as Yang put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Blake reached up and removed the ribbon on her head, and revealed her heritage.

A pair of black cat ears sat upon her head, twitching slightly.

Flare just nodded. "Figured." He said.

Blake looked at him in shock before Lillith punched him.

"Alright, so that is a bit of a surprise. Thanks for trusting me, though." He said with a laugh, and Blake visibly relaxed.

"Of course." Blake replied.

"So how'd you reveal it?" Flare asked, looking at the cat-girl.

"Well, there was an argument, then there was another argument, then I fought Torchwick and some White Fang at the docks." Blake said, and Ruby joined in.

"Yeah, and we met Penny, and she helped!" Ruby said excitably.

"Wait, the White Fang and Torchwick were working together?" Flare asked, sudden concern on his face.

Blake recognized an ally when she saw one. "Yeah. I was worried when I saw that. Something weird is going on. They were stealing massive containers of dust. We think they are responsible for all the dust robberies lately."

"Interesting. Well, regardless, no doubt the SDC is going to stop shipping dust without heavy security, am I right Weiss?" He asked, turning to the heiress, who had been listening in.

"Yes. It will raise the price of dust considerably, which could be what they are attempting to do, or at least a side effect." She said, visibly concerned.

"Lower profits, gain dust and destabilize the global dust market, huh. That's a big move for a revolutionary group and a thief. Hang on, wouldn't that just hurt the faunus more, the SDC will lower its wages across the board, not just for faunus. Something's off." Flare thought aloud.

Blake nodded, realising that there was something far greater happening. "Whatever Torchwick and the White Fang are planning, it's bigger than we know of right now. We need to get to the bottom of this."

Flare shook his head at Blake. "No, _we_ don't. Not yet."

Blake went to object, but Flare continued. "It's not because we can't. It's because we don't have the authority to just stage an operation like what you are thinking. Trust me when I say it's too dangerous. I don't know if you noticed, but the last time any of us stepped foot inside a White Fang base, I ended up in a coma for five weeks, and lost my left arm for the second time in my life. I at least have the luxury of already having a prosthetic, but what about any of you?"

Blake frowned.

"Look, I'm not saying don't check it out. I'm saying play it really safe, gather information, and figure out what they are doing before we make any moves. We don't know who's involved." Flare said, looking at the ravenette.

Blake considered the option that Flare had provided her, but he could still see some indecision on her face.

"Look, when the time comes, we'll help out, we owe you guys that much at least. But we can't help the dead, Blake." He said, hand balled in a fist on the table.

Most of the conversation between the group had continued, and it was only Blake, Weiss, Flare, Lillith and Ruby who had heard what had been said, but Flare could see the agreeance on their faces.

"So, Flare. You seem to be the expert on information gathering. How do we go about it?" Weiss asked him, eyebrow arched.

"Well, that depends on what information you are looking for. You guys just hit one of their operations at the same time we hit one of them, so they will still be scrambling, and in hiding. My guess, their standard operations will be back up and running smoothly around the beginning of the second term at Beacon." Flare said, looking between the Weiss and Blake.

"So, we wait until then before we go snooping around so they aren't on their guard?" Blake asked, eyebrow matching Weiss.

"Precisely." Flare said, and he ended the conversation by sliding the now-closed menu that Lillith had been browsing over to him.

He marvelled at the sheer variety of choices that were presented before him, and he settled on an iced chocolate.

Lillith joined the other two girls, eyebrow raised in questioning, before Ruby quickly blew away any of their doubts about the guardian by ordering a massive strawberry milkshake, with a side of cookies.

"Do you guys just hate delicious coffee?" Lillith asked, with the white and black members of Team RWBY staring at the team leaders.

The rest of the group ordered their coffees, and other various facsimiles of coffee, and soon they were all placed in front of them, the aromatic scent wafting over the little cafe.

The group spent the rest of the morning in the little cafe, enjoying their drinks, and most of them caught Flare up, in regards to the schoolwork they had been subjected to over the five weeks Flare had been comatose.

They paid and left soon after, and the massive group split up, all going about their separate ways, all with various errands and goals to accomplish.

Lillith decided that she would help her partner catch back up in regards to classwork, much to Flare's eternal disappointment that he was still expected to do it.

The two headed back to the shuttle bay, as they waved goodbye to the rest of their team, and the other teams.

All seemed to be normal, for a day on Remnant, and the guardian was content.

* * *

Ozpin sat in his office, sipping at his eternal mug of coffee. He looked at his scroll, which he held in his other hand, and read the message that appeared.

'QUEEN HAS PAWNS.'

His face revealed a rare show of emotion as concern flashed over it.

"Hmm."

* * *

 **Woah there, big chapter. This one took a little longer to write, because ending an arc is really hard. Considering this is the most I have EVER written for one story, I think it went okay. There are a few points that haven't been fully explained, but I'll have more chances to go deeper into them at a later point.**

 **Now, the biggest thing about the end of an arc is that this fic is now on TEMPORARY HIATUS. I'll say it again; TEMPORARY HIATUS.**

 **I have to plan the next arc, figure out what's going to happen, and that will take longer than usual. Plus, I kinda need a break from writing GoaNL, cause it's starting to get a little stale for me. I am working on a new fic, and you can check it out when it comes out, either by checking my profile, following me as a writer, or by watching the RWBY/Halo crossovers.**

 **The TEMPORARY HIATUS should only be 2 or 3 weeks at most, so don't worry. Maybe it'll be earlier.**

 **See you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	10. Chapter 10: Delicious

**A/N: Yo, hey everyone. I'm back from the temporary hiatus with a new chapter, and I'm happy with it. Not much to say here, other than that the end A/N will have some story information, for those who asked and those who didn't. Enjoy.**

* * *

" _You must always strive to be mindful, to be aware, to be vigilant, so that you may remain ever abated from the all-consuming darkness. You would not be the first."_

* * *

It was a bright and sunny day in the bustling city centre of Vale, and Emerald couldn't be more sick of it.

It wasn't the people, it wasn't the noise, it wasn't even the fact that she was _technically_ working. It was her partner, who just _wouldn't shut up._

"I knew you were lost." The silver-haired pale teen said, looking at his green-haired dark teen partner.

"Mercury, I will seriously pay you to shut up." Emerald replied, waving a brown wallet in her partner's face.

"That isn't your money." He replied succinctly, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"But it can be yours for five minutes of silence." Emerald offered, waving the proffered lien-stuffed leather in his face.

"Hmmm…" Mercury thought, pretending to consider the offer. "No deal."

"Fine." Emerald said, turning and tossing the now empty wallet over her shoulder.

"Whatever, you want me." Mercury said, following his partner as they walked down the pavement adjacent to the street.

Vale was busy, the morning air tinged with the ever-so-slight scent of dust. Fire dust, from what the two could tell. It was a familiar smell.

"So, how much further?" Mercury asked, already bored.

"A few blocks." Emerald responded.

"Ugh… this place is so dull." Mercury complained.

"Eh, I kinda like it. Tall buildings, diverse culture…" Emerald began, but was interrupted by her partner.

"And nice dopey people who are easy to pickpocket." He said.

Emerald stopped walking to look at her partner. "That's every city."

"Ooh, Emerald! Master Thief! Please don't take my money! I barely have enough to get by!" Mercury mocked, voice high and falsetto.

Emerald glared at him and groaned, anger evident in her voice, before walking away.

"Ugh, you're no fun today." Mercury said, following her.

The two walked down the streets for a few minutes, before they arrived at a small store off a main street.

The bell dinged as the two stepped through, Mercury splitting off to take a look at one of the stands, Emerald proceeding straight up to the counter.

"Be right there!" The two heard the cheerful call from behind a set of doors, just behind the counter. The man, whose voice it was, backed through the doors, hands full with two stacks of books, which he promptly set down.

"Welcome to 'Tukson's Book Trade', home to every book under the sun. How may I…" Tukson greeted the two, before uttering an almost inaudible gasp. He hesitated.

"How may I help you?" He repeated, more confidently.

"Just browsing." Mercury said, from near the front of the small store. He shut the cover on a book to accentuate his words.

"Actually, I was wondering if you have any copies of 'The Thief and The Butcher'?" Emerald asked, leaning against the counter top.

"Yes we do." Came the curt response from the burly store owner.

"That's great." Emerald said excitedly.

"Would you… like a copy?" Tukson asked, somewhat thrown off guard.

"No, just wondering." Emerald replied, as Mercury slammed another book shut. "Oh, oh! What about 'Violet's Garden'? In paperback?" She then asked.

"He's got it. Hardback too." Mercury said, pulling a book from the shelf, opening it.

"Ooh, options are nice." Emerald said, putting a finger up to her chin.

"Eh, no pictures." Mercury said, slamming the cover closed. "Got any comic books?"

"Near the front." Tukson said, nodding to the front window.

"Oh, no, wait! What about… 'Third Crusade'?" Emerald asked.

"Um… I… don't believe we carry that one." Tukson said, visibly unnerved.

"Oh." Mercury said, slamming another book closed.

"What was this place called again?" Emerald asked.

"Tukson's Book Trade." Tukson said.

"And you're Tukson?" Emerald asked.

"That's right." Tukson replied.

"So I take it you're the one who came up with the catchphrase?" She asked, looking at the larger man.

"Yes." Tukson answered succinctly.

"And, what was it again?" Mercury asked.

"Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun." Tukson said.

" _Except_ the 'Third Crusade'." Mercury said.

"It's just a catchphrase." Tukson replied.

"It's false advertising!" Mercury exclaimed.

"You shouldn't make a promise you can't keep, Tukson." Emerald said, as Mercury began to slowly dim the front of the store. "I hear you're planning on leaving. Heading all the way to Vacuo." The front of the store progressively got darker as the second switch was flicked. "Your brothers in the White Fang won't be happy to hear that." The third and final switch was flicked, and all the windows at the front of the store were now completely opaque. "And neither are we… You know who we are, don't you?" Emerald asked.

"Yes." Tukson said.

"And you know why we're here?" Emerald asked.

"Yes." Tukson repeated.

"So… are you going to fight back?" Emerald asked.

"Yes!" Tukson exclaimed, as he unsheathed the claws, his faunus trait, as he leapt onto the countertop.

Tukson leaped off the countertop at Emerald, slashing with his claws. He wasn't fast enough, however, and she sidestepped out of the way. He looked on in surprise, as Mercury quickly stepped forward and wound up for a kick.

The sound of a shotgun slug exiting a barrel was met with the sound of a meaty thunk as Mercury's shotgun-greaves met Tukson's face. A lack of aura meant that Tukson would not be getting back up.

The door dinged as the two walked out, comic book in Mercury's hand.

"What's with that?" Emerald asked the silver mercenary.

"I like the pictures." Came the response.

* * *

"Whatcha doin?" Yang asked, sliding along the bench in the cafeteria, bumping up against Blake.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just… going over some notes from last semester." Blake responded, quickly closing her book.

Yang quickly leant back to catch a grape in her mouth. "Lame." She replied.

Nora laughed as Yang caught a second grape in her mouth.

Both teams WBY and JNPR were surprised when Ruby finally appeared, slamming a massive white binder down onto the table.

"Sisters… Friends… Weiss." Ruby began, a faint exclamation of 'Hey!' not interrupting her. "Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream."

"This ought to be good." Yang said, as she caught another grape in her mouth.

"A dream that one day, the four of us will come together as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had… _ever!_ " Ruby continued, undeterred.

"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss asked accusingly.

"I am not a crook." Ruby replied, hands forming peace signs in Remnant's least convincing act ever.

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked, looking at her younger leader.

"I'm talking about kicking this semester off with a bang!" Ruby exclaimed, pointing at Blake.

"I always kick my semesters off with a Yang! Eh? Am I right guys?" Yang said, before being smacked in the face with an apple by a booing Nora.

"Look guys, it's been a good two weeks and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But, classes start back up tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today." Ruby said, completely ignoring her sister's terrible pun.

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store." Weiss said, whilst Yang threw an apple back at Nora, missing and hitting someone else on the other side of the cafeteria.

"I don't know, I might sit this one out." Blake said.

"Sit out or not, I think that however we start this last day we should do it as a team." Weiss said.

"I for one think that-" Weiss began to say, but was rather rudely interrupted by the sudden appearance of a pie smacking the heiress in the face.

"Heh heh. Oops?" Nora offered, whilst simultaneously pointing at Ren, who sat next to the girl, hands on his face. Pyrrha and Jaune sat in line next to Ren, wearing various expressions of shock and abject horror, subjectively.

* * *

Team FLIT was walking to the cafeteria for a late breakfast, ready for the coming day. Flare led the way, his partner alongside him, with Tera and Iren holding the rear.

"Man, that's harsh." Said a blue-haired teen in a red jacket, as he and his presumed friend walked just ahead of FLIT.

"I know, we were fighting side by side. She was super fast and I threw a banana at the guy, which sounds gross, but it was awesome." Said his friend, the blond monkey-tailed faunus.

"Nice!" The blue-haired one complimented.

"Right? And the best part is, she's a Faunus. But that's a secret, okay?" The blond said.

It was then that Flare realised exactly who the faunus was talking about. So this was Sun Wukong.

"Got it." Said the blue-haired one.

"And not a, 'I'm gonna go tell Scarlet the second Sun turns his back secret', I'm talking secret secret." Sun said, leaning close to his friend.

"Whoa, chill out man, I got it." He said, before he repeated himself in a much quieter tone. "I got it."

"You better. I just don't want to screw this up, you know. These guys are the coolest! No offense to you guys." Sun said, as the two passed one of the windows to the cafeteria.

Flare noticed something odd on the window, but shrugged it off.

"None taken." The other one responded.

"They're just in here. I'm really excited for you to meet them. So be cool, okay? You're gonna be cool, right?" Sun asked his friend.

"Dude." His friend replied, as he quickly stopped and posed.

"Good point." Sun agreed.

The two entered the door to the cafeteria, and FLIT soon followed them in, only to see them standing in the doorway.

The more odd sight was the swarms of people charging out of the cafeteria, followed by the screams of people.

"FOOD FIGHT!" Shouted one student as he bolted out the door, knocking past Tera.

The next loudest noise was Nora cackling from atop a stack of tables almost twenty feet high.

"The fuck!?" Tera exclaimed, surprise evident on her face.

"Should we… help?" Lillith asked, looking to her teammates.

Iren grunted in response, his typical way of deferring to Flare.

"I have absolutely no idea." Flare responded, completely out of his comfort zone. "But sure, why not." He said, smiling.

"Is your new arm waterproof?" Iren asked his leader.

"Thanks to the general of Atlas, yes it is. This should be a good test for it, honestly. How do we split it? Two on two, or all on them?" Flare asked.

"I say two on two, all of us might be a little unfair." Lillith said, with a smile, as Tera and Iren nodded agreement with the smallest teammate's suggestion.

"Partners versus Partners, then. Which team?" Flare asked, as Nora shouted in the distance.

"We'll take RWBY if you take JNPR." Iren replied.

"Copy. Good luck." Flare said, before he and Lillith quickly ran off.

"Yo, Ruby! We're with you, Flare and Lillith are helping JNPR!" Tera called out, and received a thumbs up from Yang. Ruby nodded, before standing one leg on the table.

"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! It will be… DELICIOUS!" Ruby shouted as she crushed a carton of milk in her hand.

Weiss, Blake, Yang, Tera and Iren all cheered along with their leader-slash-impromptu-leader as they began arming themselves with various delicatessen.

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" They heard Nora scream as she jumped down off of her perch, and JNPR opened fire, throwing and kicking a volley of watermelons at their opponents.

"Yang, turkeys!" Shouted Ruby, directing Yang towards the stack of rather large turkeys that sat on one of the tables.

With a quick punch Yang donned the turkey-based gauntlets, and began to systematically take out each watermelon with a turkey-armed punch. Once cleared of melon-based projectiles, Blake and Tera joined the fray, Blake picking up two baguettes, and Tera splitting her baguette into two.

Yang punched the air twice, and fired both turkeys at Pyrrha and Jaune, who dodged and got hit respectively.

With Jaune now stumbling back, and Pyrrha in a less-defended position, Blake and Tera moved in for the attack.

A moment of dramatic tensity occurred when Pyrrha and Blake locked baguettes, each straining against the other's stale loaves.

Tera chose this moment to intervene, to give Blake the advantage in the fight, but was swiftly removed from play by a blow from Lillith, armed with two croissants in place of her usual half-chakrams.

Blake and Pyrrha began to strike out at each other as the two engaged in a yeast-based melee, and Tera wished she could help. However, out of Tera and Lillith, Lillith was the better in a melee, her croissants proving to be staler than ever thought possible.

The two locked bread-based weapons, and quickly set about attempting to disarm the other, trading blows and dodging strikes.

Blake, on the other hand, hadn't fared so well against the Mistralian champion fighter. Having been knocked back by a charging strike from the redhead, the ravenette was sent flying, only to be replaced by Yang, who in turn was sent flying backwards from a series of baguette spears.

Ruby quickly followed behind her sister, surfing across the remaining tables atop a metal food tray. A flip and smack with the tray sent the baguette projectile back at it's thrower, and Pyrrha had to quickly roll out of the way of the loaf.

Ruby, now having closed the gap between the two, quickly leaped up, using the tray like a combined springboard-slash-weapon as she pressed against Pyrrha, who threw up a hasty block, and flipped, tray and Pyrrha being sent flying back.

Nora and Ren took the initiative, quickly stepping in to engage the red-cloaked team leader. Ruby backflipped, and revealed her partner, Weiss, behind her. Weiss engaged, spraying a massive burst of ketchup across the floor. Ren, unprepared for the condiment-based attack, slipped, and was sent skidding into a nearby stack of tables at a comical velocity, not only sending the entire stack of tables flying high into the air, but also creating an unexpectedly bowling-esq strike sound.

Nora, with the advantage of a place to put her feet, quickly leaped into the air past the flailing Ren, who had been sent backwards from the impact. She landed on one of the tables and used it as a springboard to leap higher, grabbing a pole from the wall, wrenching it from place. She landed, and pierced a watermelon with the end of the pole, turning it into a makeshift hammer.

Nora pressed her charge against the unarmed Weiss, only to have Ruby dash in front and take the blow. Weiss rolled to the side as Ruby was launched across the cafeteria into the hands of Iren, who was sat, waiting.

Weiss quickly exited her roll, and picked up the nearest weapon, which was, for some reason was a swordfish, of all the extravagant foods, and quickly twirled the swordfish-sword into place, using her semblance to launch herself towards Nora. The strike connected, and Nora flipped backwards from the impact, barely managing to maintain her footing as she slid backwards.

Nora charged back in, and the two traded strikes as they redirected each other's blows. With a spin, Nora twirled her hammer in a horizontal spin, before landing a heavy strike, and Weiss flew backwards, the power sending Weiss all the way across the cafeteria, as she smashed into one of the pillars at the back, the impact cracking the stone.

Ruby quickly leaped in and caught Weiss, getting her clear of the debris.

"Weiss! Weiss! Don't leave me! Nooo!" Ruby cried out as Weiss slumped in her arms.

Yang and Iren chose this moment to enter the fray, Yang charging forward, rearming with more turkeys. Iren split off, his large baguette in hand, heading to assist Tera, who was still engaged with Lillith.

Ren flipped over a table, grabbing two leeks as his chosen armament. Yang pushed forwards, and the two engaged, Yang hitting Ren's block with a kick. The two continued into a flurry of blocks and strikes, before Yang struck with an uppercut, launching Ren into the air. Ren flipped in the air, and used the newly gained height to fling his leeks at Yang. Yang quickly dodged them, as they somehow thudded into the concrete floor. She leaped up, and quickly reached a higher point than Ren, before she struck, launching Ren into the ground at incredible speed, cracking the concrete and scattering tables with his impact.

Yang landed, and Nora engaged, charging forward with a hammer blow that Yang had to dodge backwards to avoid. A spinning strike from Nora was dodged by Yang, who jumped backwards again, on the defensive. The two quickly charged each other, and they swung at each other.

Yang was just too slow as Nora's makeshift melon-hammer hit, the strike launching Yang through the cafeteria roof, the rubble raining down atop of Blake, who quickly flipped backwards out of the way.

Blake, whilst flipping, grabbed a string of sausages, and quickly began to twirl them. She whipped them forwards at Nora, who was struck in the chest, and sent flying backwards, past the still ongoing combat of Tera and Lillith.

Tera was tired. She'd being going blow for blow with her teammate for a while now, and the smaller girl was showing no signs of slowing down. Even with Tera using her semblance, she'd needed Iren to step in whilst she recovered.

She nodded to Iren, and the two pressed the attack against the purple-haired girl, who began to lose ground steadily under the combined assault of Iren's powerful strikes and Tera's pinpoint blows.

Nora, having recovered from the sausage whip strike Blake had delivered, began to throw the scattered drink cans at her opponents like sugary grenades. Having been thoroughly shaken, and their secret ingredient activating on contact with the ground, the cans began to promptly explode on impact, giving Blake a reason to dodge around, avoiding the aluminium explosives.

Pyrrha, having recovered, noticed Nora's plot, and quickly began to manifest her semblance, the cans shuddering and shaking as she magnetically lifted them, and began to fling them at her opponents. Blake, Tera and Iren were forced to dodge as Lillith quickly disengaged, the cans flying over her and impacting against the three.

The endless swarm of sugary explosives sent Blake, Tera and Iren against the wall of the cafeteria, and they stayed suspended for a few seconds, the impacts seemingly unending.

After a few seconds, the stream of explosives stopped, and the three hit the ground behind a very determined Ruby.

The red-cloaked girl bent over into a runner's start, and screamed in determination as she took off, a massive wake of powdered concrete and cutlery being sucked behind her as she ran, the air being bent by her passing at such a high speed.

The airborne grenade-cans were sucked up as well, the now vortex of rubble, plates, cutlery and various foods all being carried along towards the rear wall, where Ruby's opponents stood, slack-jawed at their impending defeat.

With a flourish and a cry of determination, Ruby bundled up into a spinning red blur, trailing rose petals along with her barrage.

Suddenly Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora and Lillith were swept up into the vortex as Ruby passed by, and they suddenly impacted against the far wall. Ruby stopped, hitting the metaphorical brakes, and the simple force of her stop cracked the rear wall, before she flipped into the air to avoid the incoming barrage. The five impacted, and soon after so did the rest of the vortex.

They were battered by the contents of Ruby's makeshift assault, and they soon fell, unsticking from the wall and leaving five people-shaped marks on the now multi-coloured wall.

Ruby hit the ground, cloak flurrying in the wake of her destructive attack, and looked behind her. She only saw five marks, and she swore she knew Flare was a part of the enemy team. There should've been six people lying crumpled at the wall.

The sudden crackling of lightning shocked Ruby, mentally speaking, as she spun around to see Flare standing not too far from her. Behind him were two sharp grooves in the concrete. He had two leeks in his hands, and they were somehow crackling with electrical energy.

"Ooh, this is gonna be some serious payback, Ruby." He said, as he smirked mock-menacingly.

Ruby gasped, but quickly got into the hand-to-hand stance Yang had taught her once. Without a weapon, Ruby was at Flare's vegetable-based mercy, and she knew it, but if she could hold off for a few seconds…

Flare twirled the lightning-leeks in his hands as he bent low. He sprung, and his first strike was quickly dodged by a hyper-agile Ruby. He frowned. Flare was fast, but no one held a candle to Ruby.

But she had worn herself out with that previous attack. She couldn't hold that pace forever, and Flare had tactically left the others to fight. A sound strategy for a food fight. He leaped again, and Ruby dodged again, but this time he noticed she was slowing down.

He dispelled the electrical energy that coated the leeks, and he threw one, the vegetable twirling through the air gracefully. It was aimed at her left shoulder for a very specific reason, as he quickly leaped right.

As expected, Ruby took the path of least resistance, dodging to the right, straight into the path of Flare's blow. He impacted, and sent Ruby flying, but he quickly joined her.

It wasn't expected, and it wasn't even a physical blow. Instead, he hadn't reacted to the strange sound he'd heard. It had to have been one of Weiss' glyphs, and this suspicion was confirmed when he flipped around, glancing at the remains of their impromptu battlefield. He stuck his landing, sliding across the ground. Weiss, weak as she was, was still able enough to conjure glyphs. With only one leek to his armament, he calmly waited.

Weiss was the last standing, and she was considerably weaker than Flare. The only thing that concerned Flare was that she was still far better armed than him, a swordfish being considerably more powerful than a leek. Well, sharper at least.

Weiss made the first move, using a tilted glyph to launch herself at Flare, who parried the swordfish with an easy push. Weiss, now off balance and still maintaining her momentum, stumbled, straight into Flare's arm. With a heave, he lifted and slammed the white-haired girl into the ground.

Suddenly, Flare heard a set of double doors slam open, and he turned, noticing all the furniture, coated in a thin veneer of purple energy, begin to float across the room.

The furniture settled back into place, the broken pillar fixed itself and the hole in the ceiling reassembled itself back into a proper ceiling.

"Children, please. Do not play with your food!" Exclaimed the angry professor Goodwitch, to the now mostly awake and aware group of first and second year students, who all looked around sheepishly, save Nora and Yang, the former unleashing a mighty belch, and the latter creating another hole in the ceiling as she finally returned from her impromptu space program.

Goodwitch growled, but was calmed down by a firm, reassuring hand on her back from Ozpin.

"Let it go." Ozpin said.

Glynda sighed. "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world."

"And they will be, but right now they are still students. So why not let them play the part?" Ozpin said, as he began to walk off.

"After all, it isn't a role they'll have forever."

* * *

Emerald and Mercury had just arrived back at the warehouse that they had been using as their operational headquarters for quite some time, even before the two had arrived in Vale.

"Oh, look! She sent the kids again! This is turning out just like the divorce." Roman Torchwick said, as the snazzily dressed thief wrapped his arms around Emerald and Mercury, who attempted to shake him off.

"Spare us the thought of you procreating." Emerald said as she shivered in disgust.

Roman pulled away from the two, before turning to address them. " _That_ was a joke. And _this_ … _just_ might tell me where you two have been all day." He held up a sheet of paper, the address to Tukson's Book Trade written clearly on it.

"What!?" Emerald exclaimed, checking her pockets to see if what Roman was holding was the real slip of paper.

"I'm a professional, sweetheart, pay attention, maybe you'll learn something." Torchwick said, as he checked the paper. "Why do you have this address?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Emerald replied smugly.

"Yeah, I would. Now where have you been all day?" Roman asked, already annoyed.

"Cleaning up your problems. Well, _one_ of them at least." Mercury said, as he stepped up to Roman.

"I had that under control." Roman said, frustration leaking into his voice.

"Two packed bags and a ticket out of Vale said otherwise." Mercury rebutted smugly.

"Listen, you little punk. If it were up to me, I would take you and your little street rat friend here and-" Roman let the frustration out, as he began to threaten the two, only to be interrupted by a sultry voice.

"Do _what_ , Roman?" The sultry voice said, and Roman, along with Emerald and Mercury, quickly located the source of the voice.

Up on the upper catwalks stood a woman, pale, almost porcelain, skin contrasting against the deep red of her mini-dress, her shoulders bare. Even as she looked down on the three, her amber eyes glowed, her black hair covering one of them.

It wasn't just her eyes that glowed. From where she was stood it appeared that the entirety of her glowed, a fiery orange.

The platform she was standing on began to descend, bringing her down to their level.

"I'd, uh… not kill them?" Roman half-asked, laughing nervously.

"Cinder!" Emerald greeted excitedly.

"I thought I made it clear that you were to eliminate the would-be runaway." Cinder said, ignoring Emerald's approach, walking straight past, her dark glass high-heels clicking on the concrete floor.

"I was _going_ to-" Roman began, but was quickly interrupted by Emerald.

" _He_ was going to escape to Vacuo! Mercury and _I_ took it upon ourselves to kill the rat." Emerald said.

"I think he was some kind of cat, actually." Mercury mused.

"What, like a Puma?" Emerald asked her partner.

"Yeah, there we go." Mercury replied.

"Quiet. Did I not _specifically_ instruct you two to keep your hands clean while in Vale?" Cinder questioned them. Roman, with the attention drawn off of him, laughed quietly.

"I just thought-" Emerald began to speak.

"Don't think... _Obey._ " Cinder admonished.

"Yes ma'am. It won't happen again." Emerald said, head down.

"And _you._ Why wasn't this job done sooner?" Cinder asked the thief, who was suddenly no longer enjoying the misfortune of others.

"Uh..? Eh..? EH..? _Sorry_ if I've been busy stealing _every_ speck of Dust in the Kingdom!" Roman cried out, gesturing to the shipping crates that littered the warehouse.

"You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski mask." Mercury said, his partner laughing at the joke.

"Look around, kid. I've got this town running scared! Police camping out at every corner, Dust prices through the roof, and we're sitting pretty on an old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials, and rounds than we know what to do with! Speaking of which, if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan, it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother!" Roman cried out, monologuing.

"Oh, Roman. Have a little faith. You'll know what you need when you need to know." Cinder said, placing her hand on her Torchwick's face. "Besides, we're done with Dust."

"O-okay, what now?" Roman asked, thrown off.

"We're moving. Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight." Cinder replied, as she began to walk away.

"Coordinates?" Roman asked.

"We're proceeding to phase two." Cinder said, looking back at Roman as Emerald and Mercury began to follow her.

Roman, thrown off guard, pulled a cigar out of his pocket. He reached for his other pocket, grabbing for his lighter, only not to find it there. He looked up, and noticed Emerald, her tongue stuck out at the master thief as she flicked the lighter on.

Roman sighed.

* * *

Flare awoke with a gasp, panting silently as he shot bolt-upright in his bed, sweat shining in the moonlight.

It was the phantom pains again. His arm ached, and he quickly got out of bed. He snuck out of the room, doing his best not to wake up the rest of his team.

"Vier, you got anything for me?" Flare subvocalized, as he walked into the kitchen.

"That depends on what it is that you want to know, Guardian." Vier said through the internal link.

"Well, first things first. White Fang news?" Flare asked, as he set about fixing himself a coffee, dipping into his personal supply of earthen coffee, something he'd yet to find a suitable replacement for.

"Well, nothing so far. I've picked up a few mentions of recruitment, but there are no definitive details. I will continue to monitor all communications." Vier replied, as Flare took his mug, sitting in one of the desk chairs.

"Hmm. Anything about those ruins?" Flare asked, as he sipped at the rich coffee.

"Now that, Guardian, has been a treasure trove of constant communication. Most of the communications are encrypted, due to the origin of the communications being from the Atlesian Military. They encrypt most of their data under what they call a 'Grade 4 Encryption', which is as effective as the Golden Age's least effective encryption, in comparison." Vier said, as Flare downed the rest of his coffee.

Flare materialised his helmet in it's place on his head.

"Well, it seems we have a general to visit."

* * *

 **Well, that was a good introductory chapter, at least it was in my opinion. A few things to talk about here.**

 **Firstly, for everyone who has been leaving reviews, thank you so much, your reviews are much appreciated. To Anon, who said not to give Flare a prosthetic, you should probably read on below. Also anyone else should too.**

 **Secondly, and this is rather important. I couldn't really think of a good way to explain this in the story without cramming exposition down your throats, so this is probably the best way without distracting from the story.**

 **Flare, and by extension, all guardians, are not invincible. Think of it as a Destiny AU, because, to be frank, immortality is kinda shitty to write. I'm not at the point where I could conceivably write a convincing story where the main character was invincible, so the next best thing is for everyone to be at risk of death. And don't think I'm not willing to kill off characters, I am.**

 **So, to summarise, Flare and other Guardians are not invincible, they were merely reincarnated by the Ghosts in order to fight again. Maybe I'll come up with a feasible in-story explanation at a later date, but for now this will have to do.**

 **Thirdly, as always I do appreciate it when you review. I will do my best to answer any questions there, and any criticism is always appreciated.**

 **As always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	11. Chapter 11: Planning

**A/N: Hey all, not much to say up here. I've been getting back into the swing of writing things lately, and I just bought two new books as well, so I'm relaxing with some Douglas Adams right now probably. Some excellent Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, and the sequel Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul.**

 **Also, for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, go watch Blade Runner 2049. It is absolutely incredible.**

* * *

"Enter." A calm voice said, the door in front of Flare sliding open. The guardian stepped through, head bowed slightly.

"Ah, Mr Archid. Perfect timing. This is General Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy and General of the Atlesian Military. James, this is Flare Archid, a second year team leader here at Beacon." Ozpin's calm voice introduced the tall man to Flare and vice-versa.

The man in question stood in front of Flare, dressed in an impeccably clean white overcoat, a grey undercoat, and a black sweater, with a red necktie. He also wore white pants, the hems tucked into the overtly military silver boots, with a single white-gloved hand. A single strip of metal sat against his temple, and overall he struck a rather imposing figure.

"Pleasure to meet you sir. I actually came here to catch you for a rather important conversation." Flare said, giving a quick salute to the man.

"And just what would that be, Archid?" The general asked, eyebrow quirked at the odd student.

"I want to know everything you have on the Hive Temples." Flare said simply, and Ironwood took a step back in shock.

"How did you-" The general began, only to interrupt himself by drawing his revolver from it's holster on his belt.

"Ah. So Ozpin wasn't privy to that information, huh." Flare quipped, taking a deliberate glance at the seemingly emotionless headmaster.

"How could you possibly know about that?" Ironwood exclaimed, as he looked between Flare and Ozpin. Ozpin, in response, nodded at Flare.

"Well, they say that sometimes the best approach is the direct approach. General Ironwood, I would like you to meet Vier." Flare said, as he motioned for Vier to materialise in front of him.

Vier did so, the cubic-esq AI reforming into a solid form in front of the stunned general, who, to his credit, handled the sudden appearance very well.

"Greetings, General. My name is Vier, and I am the Ghost assigned to Flare." Vier introduced himself, floating just between his guardian and the general.

The general remained silent, obviously attempting to figure out exactly what it was that Ozpin put in his coffee.

"If you will allow me, I can explain everything as fast as possible so you are up to speed." Vier continued, lazily drifting to the left.

The general nodded, still unsure of the floating robot that hovered in front of him. Vier quickly ushered the general over to the corner of the office, so that Flare and Ozpin could talk without having to be interrupted. It was Ozpin's office, after all.

"I had Vier doing some communication's monitoring. He picked up quite a few transmissions to do with the ruined temples, but a majority of them were encrypted with the Atlesian Military's highest grade of encryption. It would take Vier a few minutes to decrypt all of them, but it would tip them off to us. We figured it would be easier this way, Headmaster." Flare explained, as Ozpin sipped at his coffee.

"Well, I can't say you are the most diplomatic of people I have ever met, but I can see why the direct approach was a good choice. Having the general against you would not bode well for international relations, not to mention your own personal safety." Ozpin said, smirking behind his mug.

"Well, I don't have the _greatest_ track record with government leaders. I almost shot the last leader I'd met's brother, and that could've sparked a serious incident. Granted, the guy did look like an assassin, and it was an honest mistake, but still." Flare said, as he looked over to the corner of the office, where Vier was projecting a holographic image of the Tower.

"Well, whilst I have you here, Mr Archid, I must ask of you a favour." Ozpin set his mug down on his desk.

"Of course, Headmaster." Came the quick reply from Flare.

"I want you, and by extension, your team, should you need them, to make sure that Team RWBY doesn't get themselves into any trouble." Ozpin said, as he put one hand on his cane.

"Are you expecting them to get into… Nevermind. It's Team RWBY, after all. Do you want us to stop them, or help them?" Flare asked, looking at the enigmatic professor.

"I do not believe you could stop them if you tried, Mr Archid. I would appreciate if you would help them. They will need it, no doubt. Take Cerulea also, if you need to. I have no doubt she would love to help." Ozpin said, and Flare nodded in response. He hadn't heard any of Team RWBY planning anything yet, but with them it was only a matter of time. He had some information on the White Fang to give to Blake anyway, but Flare didn't think that telling the professor it was him that was helping Team RWBY get _into_ trouble would gain him any brownie points, so to speak.

"Vier, send any relevant data to the general's scroll. We have to leave, and these gentlemen have a rather unfortunate discussion ahead of them. Thank you for speaking with me, General. Always a pleasure, Headmaster." Flare said, before he promptly left through the now open door that led out of the office.

Flare stepped inside the elevator, but he wasn't fast enough not to catch the smirk on Ozpin's face as a worried Ironwood checked his scroll, only for a second scroll to buzz. The elevator doors slid closed, and Flare, accompanied by Vier as always, began to make their descent.

"Nice thinking, sending it to his secret scroll, Vier. That'll get the reaction we want." Flare said, chuckling to himself.

"Of course, Guardian. It isn't very often _I_ get to do the intimidating." Vier replied, his voice smug.

"Well, there is a reason for that. Now, where do you think Team RWBY is right now?" Flare mused, running through a list of potential locations.

"Might as well check the library."

* * *

Now, normally you would expect quiet from a library. This was not the case as Flare walked in to the the sounds of cheering, and more inexplicably, sobbing, from the same place.

Flare walked down the aisles of bookshelves, until he reached both his target and the source of the noise.

A cheering Yang, a sullen and distracted Blake, and Ruby and Weiss sobbing, former atop the latter, both hugging each other.

Before Flare could wander over and say hello, his approach was cut off by Sun and Neptune.

"'Sup losers." Sun said, the monkey faunus greeting the group with the least amount of effort possible.

"Hey Sun!" Ruby greeted, her typical smile on her face.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake… Ice Queen." Sun continued, before once again being interrupted.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" Weiss complained, indignance evident in her voice.

"I never got a chance to formally introduce you to my old friend." Sun continued undeterred.

"Uhh, aren't libraries for reading?" Neptune asked, interrupting Sun, who was starting to get a little annoyed.

"Thank you!" Ren cried out, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Pancakes!" Came the cry from a half asleep Nora, who had merely reacted to the sound of her partner's voice.

"Shut up. Don't be a nerd." Sun said, looking at his partner.

"Ah ah ah. ' _Intellectual_ ', okay? Thank you." Neptune said, shaking his finger. "I'm Neptune." The blue-haired huntsman-in-training waved.

"So, Neptune, where are you from?" Weiss asked.

"Haven. And I don't believe I caught your name, snow angel." Neptune said, as he sidled his way closer to the white-haired heiress.

"Um, I'm Weiss." She responded.

"Are you kidding me?" Came the faint exclamation from Jaune, who was stood at one of the bookshelves on the other side of his team's table.

"Pleasure to meet you." Neptune said.

"Never took you for the board game playing type." Sun said to Blake.

"Right, well, I think I'm done playing actually. I'll see you guys later." Blake said, pushing past Sun as she made her way to the exit of the library.

Flare quickly walked over to catch up to her, and as he followed he heard the resigned exclamation from Nora.

"Women." She said with a shrug. Flare had to suppress a laugh at that.

"Blake!" Flare called out, grabbing her attention. The ravenette turned, and noticed the guardian, as he quickly strode to catch up.

"Look, Flare, whatever it is, unless it has something to do with the White Fang, I'm too tired to care right now." Blake said, as she made to walk off.

Flare grabbed her by the shoulder, gently. "Well, good thing it's about the White Fang then, isn't it."

Blake looked surprised. She hadn't expected Flare, of all people, to be able to find intel on the White Fang. He was human, and according to his team he had never set foot in Vale before the beginning of the year. How he'd managed to acquire any kind of information was beyond her, but she guessed she was about to find out.

"C'mon, this hallway isn't the best place to talk about this. Follow me." Flare said, pointing over his shoulder at the passing students.

Blake nodded, and followed the guardian as he led her out of the building, into a mostly empty courtyard. Afternoon sun shone brightly through the faint and few clouds, and the people outside were mostly lazing around, enjoying their day off before the next day's classes. Flare sat at a bench alongside the pathway, and Blake joined him.

Flare quickly pulled out his scroll, and opened a document on it, Blake leaning over to peer at it.

"This is the information I gathered. A recruitment rally in the city. Hopefully, this helps. Shame I don't have any more." Flare explained, before he sent the file to Blake's scroll.

Blake nodded. "Thanks Flare. How'd you even get this? They only send these out to faunus they believe potential recruits." Blake looked at Flare, eyes squinting.

Flare scratched the back of his head. "I called in a few favours, that's all. Nothing else to it." He said.

Blake wasn't convinced, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Thanks Flare. I appreciate your help."

"Yeah, no problem. But hey, grab me when you inevitably act on this, huh? I have a few things invested in this myself." Flare said, as he stood up and began to walk off.

"Yeah…" Blake said, before drifting off into her own thoughts, bottom lip being trapped underneath her top as she thought.

Almost twenty minutes passed, and Blake quickly shook her head, freeing herself from her thoughts. She stood up, stretched, and put her scroll back in her pocket, before she walked off, back towards her dorm.

* * *

"Ugh, we should never have let him play!" Yang exclaimed, as she, Ruby and Weiss entered their dorm.

"You're just mad cuz' the new guy beat you! See, if you had just attacked when I told you none of this would've happened." Ruby teased.

The door behind the three opened, and in walked Blake, fully immersed in her thoughts.

"Hey Blake!" Ruby greeted, but Blake didn't respond, still lost in her mind.

"Stop." Weiss said, and Blake looked up at her, noticing the three. "Lately you've been quiet, antisocial and moody!"

"Uh, have you met Blake?" Yang piped up.

"Which I get is kind of your thing, but you've been doing it more than usual! Which quite frankly, is unacceptable! You made a promise to _me_ , to _all of us_ , that you would let us know if something was _wrong_!" Weiss exclaimed. She leapt up onto a chair, balancing the chair on it's two rear legs, one heeled boot on the seat and another on the back, as the heiress teetered back and forth. " _So_ , Blake Belladonna, what is _wrong_!?" She pointed her finger at the ravenette, then quickly hopped off the chair, and placed it neatly back into it's place, much to the shock of Ruby and Yang.

"I just… I don't understand how everyone can be so calm." Blake exclaimed.

Ruby sidled up to her faunus teammate. "You're still thinking about Torchwick?" She asked.

"Torchwick, the White Fang, _all of it_! Something _big_ is happening and there are only two people doing anything about it!" Blake angrily gestured as she spoke, swinging her arms wide.

"Look, Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsman, I'm sure they can handle it." Yang said.

"Well I'm not! They don't know the White Fang like I do!" Blake interrupted angrily.

"Okay, between blowing up nightclubs, stopping thieves, and fighting for freedom, I'm _sure_ the three of you think that you're _all_ ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells!" Weiss began.

"Uh, who?" Ruby interjected.

"But let me once again be the voice of reason. We're students! We're not ready to handle this sort of situation!" Weiss continued on, ignoring the interruption from Ruby.

Well yeah, but…" Ruby began, but it was Weiss who interrupted Ruby.

"We're not ready!" Weiss repeated.

"And we may never _be_ ready! Our enemies aren't just going to sit around and wait for graduation day. They're out there somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready or not!" Blake reinforced her point by pointing out the door.

"Okay, all in favour of becoming the youngest Huntresses to single-handedly taking down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale… say aye." Ruby said, accompanying her speech with various manic expressions and gestures.

"Yes! I love it when you're feisty!" Yang exclaimed, pumping her fist and winking at Blake.

"Well, I suppose it could be fun." Weiss agreed.

"None of you said aye." Ruby said, half under her breath.

"Well, whilst we're in this together, it can't be single-handedly." Blake said, flustered.

"Why?" Yang asked, staring questioningly at the cat faunus.

"Well…" Blake began, but cut herself off.

"Spit it out." Weiss said, glaring at the ravenette.

"Flare was the one who gave me some information, but he wants to be included. Something about a personal score." Blake said, half-muttering.

"Ah." Weiss said, as she considered it. She looked to Ruby.

"Well, if he was the one who gave you the information, we kind of owe him, don't we?" Yang said, and she joined Weiss in looking at their team leader.

Blake looked to Ruby as well, waiting for their leader to decide.

"Well, it'll be nice to have some backup either way. First, we hatch a plan!" Ruby decided.

"Yeah!" Yang exclaimed, throwing up double finger-guns at her sister.

"Ah! I left my board game at the library!" Ruby gasped, freaking out.

"We're doomed." Weiss muttered, hand on her head.

"I'll be right bac- oof!" Ruby began, rushing out of the room, only to smack into something that the three older girls couldn't see.

"Sorry, are you okay?" Ruby asked, looking up at the person she had crashed into.

"I'm fine. Just watch where you're going." Came the voice, a dark-skinned hand held out to help the small leader up. Ruby looked at the green-haired, red-eyed girl that offered her hand, before taking it, and standing up.

"Oh, right, sorry. Um, I'm Ruby! Are you new?" Ruby introduced herself. She looked between the green-haired girl and the silver-haired boy, who stood to the side of his companion.

"Visiting from Haven, actually." Came a sultry drawl from behind the two, and the green-haired girl stepped to the right, revealing a black-haired amber-eyed girl, walking just behind the two.

"Ooh! You're here for the festival! But exchange students have their own dormitory." Ruby explained.

"I guess we just got turned around." The silver-haired one said.

"Hey, don't worry, it happens all the time." The green-haired girl and the silver-haired boy both walked past Ruby as she spoke. "Uh, your building is _just_ east of here."

"Thanks. Maybe we'll see you around." The black-haired one said, as she joined her companions, walking past Ruby.

"Yeah, maybe! Oh, uh, welcome to Beacon!" Ruby called to the retreating figures of Emerald, Mercury and Cinder, as the leader of Team RWBY began to jog towards the library.

Cinder grinned. Welcome, indeed.

* * *

Ruby, board game in hand, jogged out of the library, down through the hallways towards the dormitories.

She made it a quarter of the way through the dormitory hallways before she crashed into another person. She really needed to stop making it a habit.

"Ouch. Sorry!" Ruby apologised, as she stood up, dusting herself off. She was happy to have kept the board game in her hand.

"Relax, Ruby. Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Flare asked, as he dusted himself off from the smaller hooded girl's impact.

"Oh, Flare! God, you're like a brick wall. Um, I don't have much time to talk, but could you meet me and my team in our dorm tomorrow after class?" Ruby asked.

"If it's what I think it is, then yeah. Mind if I bring Lillith?" Flare asked.

"Sure, if you want!" Ruby nodded, before once again zipping off.

Flare sighed. He knew Blake would want to make a move on the information, but he wasn't sure rushing in would be a good idea. Granted, he didn't know what Ruby was planning, so it could be fine, but he had orders. If he had to pull rank, so to speak, he would.

'Were it that simple.' The guardian thought, as he walked towards his dorm.

He'd just finished his afternoon snack, a theme he and many other students kept up. He, however, was on the good side of many of the cafeteria staff, and they were more inclined to attempt different food, much to Nora's dismay at his apparent quote-unquote 'hatred of the best food _ever!_ ' Flare liked pancakes as much as the next guy, but he didn't want them for every meal. Unless Ren was cooking, in which case he could almost rival Nora in consumption of the flat delicacy.

The young guardian opened the door to his dorm, and stepped through. Tera was, predictably, lying on a couch, scrolling through articles on her scroll. Iren was next to her, flipping through a textbook, comparing his notes to the book's content.

Lillith, however, was doing something Flare hadn't expected to see. Sat at the impromptu workbench that was one of their tables, she had both Problem and Solution sat in front of her, both weapons form-shifted into their half-chakram forms, with a set of tools next to the weapons, spread out across the desk.

"Hey Flare." Lillith greeted, looking up from her work. Tera waved without looking and Iren nodded, their typical greeting rituals.

"Hey all. Whatcha' up to, Lillith?" Flare asked, placing his hands on her shoulders, peering at the sheet of paper that sat, slightly smudged, on the makeshift easel the mechanically-gifted girl was using as a reference for her work.

"Well, after a couple hours of sketching, I wanted to give this a try." Lillith gestured at the plan she had drawn up, then to the blades of her weapons, where Flare could see the slight indents that had been painstakingly carved and smoothed into the flat sides of the sharpened metal.

"Give what a try?" Flare asked, slightly confused.

"Dust." Lillith replied concisely, gesturing to the vials that sat in their holsters on the bench.

"Ah." Flare replied, understanding dawning. "So, does it work?" He asked.

His question was met with a frown. "I'm so close, but the dust won't prime. It flows, sticks and everything, it just won't activate properly."

"Mind if I take a look? A fresh pair of eyes couldn't hurt." Flare asked his partner.

"Yeah, but be careful, please." Lillith was placing a large amount of trust in her partner, and Flare was distinctly aware of that.

He pulled up the other chair, and Lillith edged over, giving him space. He looked over the plans, and checked the weapons, inspecting the small indentations and the corresponding circuits.

"Hmm. How were you planning on activating the dust crystals?" Flare asked, and Lillith was more than happy to explain.

"Well, normally you can activate dust just by directing your aura into the weapon, and that would activate the crystals. I gave it a try, but I think the circuit connections might have been incorrectly carved, which is a massive pain, because getting new blades could take weeks." Lillith explained, a depressed look on her face at the thought of being limited to her gun-form for a few weeks.

"Okay then. Did you think to put a dust crystal in it?" Flare asked straight-faced, before he erupted into laughter. Tera burst out laughing, and Iren chuckled.

Lillith blushed heavily, grabbed her weapons out of his hands and pushed Flare out of his seat. Flare, for his part, toppled over onto the floor, still laughing.

"How long did you know?" Lillith asked the collapsed, out-of-breath guardian.

"Since I sat down!" Exclaimed Flare, laughing hard.

"God, Lillith, really!" Tera cried out from the couch, laughing almost as hard as their leader.

"He did get you, Lillith." Iren piped up, chuckling.

"I hate all of you." Lillith muttered, grabbing two burn crystals from the secure container on the desk. She opened the slots that she had placed into the rear of the upper recievers of her pistols, and she placed a crystal in each.

She willed her aura into the half-chakrams, and the circuits in the blades began to glow red, before the blades ignited into flames, the heat radiating off.

"Huh. That's cool." Tera said, putting her scroll down and looking at the flaming weapons.

"Lillith, please tell me you know how to turn it off." Flare said, as he recovered from the floor.

"Of course I do, you ass." Lillith looked at Flare, and she quickly dispelled the flames, the blades receding back to their original steel colour. She form-shifted the half-chakrams back into their pistol forms, and stowed them back on the desk.

"So, Lillith, can I grab you for a sec?" Flare asked, as Iren and Tera re-immersed themselves in what they had been doing prior.

"Yeah, sure." Lillith said, nodding. Flare quickly led her outside the dorm, into the hallway.

"I was talking to Ozpin earlier today. He wants me, and if need be, the team, to keep an eye on Team RWBY to make sure they don't get into trouble." Flare began to explain.

"What, and stop them?" Lillith asked, interjecting.

"Well… not quite. I want to help them go after the White Fang. They are already planning to do that, so I figured if you can't beat 'em join 'em?" Flare said, half-questioningly.

Lillith looked at her leader and partner with a quizzical look. "When?"

"They want us to meet them tomorrow afternoon after class in their dorm." Flare answered.

"Just the two of us?" Lillith asked.

"Well, it was originally me, but I figured some backup would be useful. I don't want to involve Tera and Iren just yet. This is just recon." Flare explained.

"Okay then. But you need clothes. You can't go out in a school uniform." Lillith said, eyeing the uniform that he wore.

"Touché." Flare said, concisely.

"I assume you have other clothes, considering your armor got shredded." Lillith said, looking at the young guardian.

"Of course I do. I just have to go get them." Flare said, lying through his teeth.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have dust crystals to experiment with." With that, Lillith turned around and entered the dorm.

"I wonder if the ship still has undecoded engrams." Flare mused to himself, as he wandered towards the elevator that would take him to the hangar.

* * *

He was lucky. Extremely lucky. One single legendary engram for a chestplate, a legendary for his arms, and a rare for greaves. That was all he had lying in storage, his ship unfortunately not linked to the vaults at the Tower.

He was unlucky, however, when it came to helmets. He would need one, desperately, and yet he didn't have a single spare in his ship. That was a problem.

"Damn, Vier. You got any ideas?" Flare asked his Ghost.

"Outside of buying a helmet from an armorer in town, no." Vier replied.

"Can you do me a favour?" Flare asked.

"That certainly depends on what the favour is, Guardian." Vier responded.

"Can you scan all the networks, including the Atlesian Military ones, for any reference to anything resembling an engram?" Flare proposed the question to Vier, who drifted around him as Flare paced about the hangar.

"I'll certainly try, Guardian. One moment." Vier began to scan through the countless petabytes of data that flowed and had flowed through every single network on Remnant.

Exactly four minutes thirty-three seconds later Vier had exactly one reference to something pertaining to an engram.

"Guardian, I think I have something. It references multiple files that are held off the servers, but it does mention a location." Vier explained.

"Yeah? Where is the location?" Flare asked.

"A research and development facility on the border of Atlas." Vier replied.

"Well, that doesn't sound too bad." Flare began.

"Owned by the Schnee Dust Company, in cooperation with the Atlesian Military, under what they refer to as the Black Ice Division. However, any details about Black Ice are strictly monitored, and any unmonitored details are merely office rumours." Vier continued, unabated.

"Shit." Flare summarised, considering the implications of his idea, as he donned a set of cheap common armor he had decoded himself months ago.

"Guardian, please don't tell me you plan on stealing the engram for a _helmet_. That would be ridiculous. We don't even know if it is a helmet engram. It could be something completely different, like a warlock bond. It could be completely useless." Vier said disparagingly.

"Well, we have one night to conduct a secret heist on a highly secure secret military base, single-handedly. Not the hardest thing we've ever done." Flare said, as he grabbed a sheet of fabric from the ship's inventory, wrapping it around his face to form a makeshift shemagh.

"Let's get flying."

* * *

"So, what've you got for me, Vier." Flare asked his companion as the two flew high above the atmosphere. Flare wanted to conserve power, and the cloaking device would only serve to increase consumption.

"Well, from what I've gathered, the server room is on the fifth floor. It has two entrances, the first being the secure door that serves as the actual entrance, and the ventilation shafts." Vier began, and Flare listened, deliberating between the two choices of infiltration.

"What kind of security are we dealing with on option number one?" Flare asked.

"From what I can tell, it looks like it's entirely computerised, and monitored by two security guards, presumably with aura." Vier said, as he monitored the building's internal camera feeds.

"And option number two?" Flare asked.

"You would have to gain access to the ventilation controls, I would have to switch on and off fans to prevent any problems, and it is a lot of crawling." Vier answered.

"Huh. What about cameras?" Flare asked.

"Either we avoid the cameras entirely or we take the security center, which is another set of specific tasks. Or, alternatively, we could turn back and _not_ rob a highly secure military facility." Vier said.

"Wait, why do we need the servers to begin with?" Flare questioned.

"The servers contain the location of the vault, along with one third of the code." Vier replied.

"Man, one third? This is going to take some serious effort." Flare said, as he sifted through Infinite Solution's options on his scroll, half-paying attention to flying.

"Indeed, Guardian. The second of the three code parts is in a separate safe, in the security center, so we will have to take care of that as well. The third part is the hardest part, however." Vier explained.

"Why?" Flare asked.

"The third part of the code is on a non-networked scroll held by the head of the facility, and requires his biometrics to unlock." Vier said.

"Oh." Flare replied concisely. "What time is it?"

"It is currently seven in the evening, Guardian." Vier answered.

Flare nodded. "Take care of the flight. I have a call to make."

Flare stood up from his pilot's seat, and opened the contacts menu on his scroll.

He placed the scroll against his ear, pulling the makeshift shemagh down beneath his head, adjacent to his neck like a scarf.

" _Hello?_ " The voice on the other end was slightly robotic, the signal fuzzy due to altitude. Flare was impressed it still worked.

"Hey Weiss, it's Flare. I'm out of town on an errand, but I wanted to ask you a question." Flare said into the scroll.

" _Oh, Flare? What is the question?_ " Weiss asked, caught off guard.

"What do you know about Black Ice?" Flare asked, and Weiss went silent.

" _Nothing good. All I know is that my father made a deal with General Ironwood a few months back concerning some kind of super-dense dust crystal. They act as special forces for the special forces, in a sense. Why?_ " Weiss was confused.

"Thanks for the help Weiss. I'll let you get back to planning." Flare said, as he hung up.

Flare knew that he was asking for a very angry Weiss when he got back, but this wasn't the moment to dwell on that.

"Okay, Vier. You ready for a heist?" Flare asked his floating companion.

A robotic sigh came from the AI. "If we must, Guardian. If we must."

* * *

 **Well, looks like Flare and Vier have a very large undertaking ahead of them. Heist movies have always been my favourite kind of movie, so this is going to be interesting to write, that's for sure.**

 **Shame I couldn't write in an action scene into this chapter, but it didn't really fit with the narrative. At least you get an action-oriented chapter next week.**

 **Dekuton, thanks for the review, you really helped clarify a few things, and yes, that may be the reason there is a heist. Thanks for the idea.**

 **To everyone else, please do review, it helps out massively.**

 **As always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	12. Chapter 12: Heisting

**A/N: Well, not much to say up here other than I'm sorry I didn't update on Tuesday afternoon AWST. I spent all weekend at my friend's farm, tearing and refitting a second-hand car. We bought it, took out the rear seats, and made it much lighter. Was a fun weekend.**

 **Anyway, onto the heist!**

* * *

Even as used to this as he was, Flare still reveled at the sensation of the air rushing past him at high speed, as he plunged through the evening sky towards his destination. Having just dropped from his ship, he directed himself towards the facility that sat below him.

The thrusters on Flare's boots burst to life with a quick pulse of energy, and it illuminated the sky like another star dotting the clear night. It was a good thing none of the robots were programmed to look for odd light sources like his. It was, according to Vier, moreso that the robots were designed with various aircraft detection software.

Flare wasn't an aircraft, which was why they didn't spot him. He also wasn't visible, which made it almost impossible for the AK-200s to detect him.

The guardian snuck across the top of the tall walls that surrounded the facility, rounding past the massive anti-grimm emplacements and crawling past patrolling robots, frost visible on their metallic chassis as the weather fluctuated between deep cloud cover and freezing cold snow.

Ten minutes of slowly sneaking through the cold atop the walls, Flare found his entry point. The entry point was a small vent lodged in the side of the wall, barely big enough for the guardian to squeeze into, were he to try.

Firstly, however, he had to get the vent open. That would be the harder part of the entry, as it was securely screwed into place in the wall, and the screws were frosted over, the metal ice cold from the ambient temperature that the facility experienced, so far north.

Flare wanted so desperately to pull out a grenade and just blast open the vent, but at that point he might as well shoot himself in the head and save the facility guards the trouble. He wasn't geared up for a long-winded raid on a quote-unquote allied military research facility, and even if he was it wouldn't exactly be the most diplomatic of things to do when he was attempting to get the atlesian general on his side.

It was slow going, dangling off the edge of the wall and slowly using gravity as leverage to unscrew the frosted vent hatch, but Flare resolved himself to put in the effort, and he was soon rewarded as the vent, with three screws removed, ker-chunked itself off it's mounting points, swinging in the wind, supported by the fourth screw, the lower left.

Flare, not one to waste time on such a time-critical mission, quickly and deftly slipped inside the shaft, squeezing through. He was glad Vier had dematerialised Infinite Solution, because if his robotic companion hadn't, Flare either wouldn't have fit, or he would be making a very loud clanging noise as he descended the wall inside the cramped ventilation shaft.

Even as it was, Flare was finding it incredibly slow going as he pushed and pulled his way through the ventilation shafts, making his way further and further down into the depths of the facility.

Twenty minutes of crawling and Flare finally managed to find an empty room on the other side of a vent. A swift kick and the vent popped off it's bolts, and Flare quickly blinked out, catching the hatch before it could clatter on the ground. It was a shame no one was there to see him, due to the sheer fact that it was an incredible display of awareness and ability. No one would ever believe him, were he to tell the story. Then again, advertising the fact he broke into a secret military facility wouldn't be a smart thing to do.

He was in a rather large supply closet, filled with various things one would expect to find in a standard supply closet, and things one would definitely _not_ expect to find in a standard supply closet. Around the room were shelves, stocked with paper, pens, printer ink and various other office supplies, along with crates of dust, various weapon models, ammunition types and other forms of explosives.

This was, without a doubt, the most dangerous supply closet in the history of Remnant, if not the entire universe itself.

Of course, it just had to be sheer misfortune that Flare chose this supply closet to tumble into, because looking directly at him was an incredibly shocked scientist.

* * *

No one had ever accused Lillith of being slow, stupid, incompetent or otherwise unintelligent. No one ever had any reason to believe otherwise, and Lillith never had to try to convince people she was smart.

The only problem was the fact that all that intelligence was book-smarts. She, and many other people who knew her well, would never claim that she was the most social of people, let alone a massive socialite.

So when the message arrived on her scroll, she had read it, read it again, read it a third time, and then promptly retreated into the academy's workshop.

Tera had no idea what was making her teammate so upset, and it was pretty damn obvious she was upset, regardless of how many times Lillith said she was fine, stumbling the words out between sniffles.

Iren was asleep, conveniently, blissfully unaware of the predicament that Tera was in, and Flare was missing-in-action, their leader completely unavailable. He was out of signal range on his scroll, too. Or it was turned off. It was more likely turned off.

"Lillith, c'mon. You gotta talk to me. Something is wrong, and you can't just shut your teammate out because you don't want to talk about it." Tera demanded, her teammate hunched over a desk sketching away at a sheet of blueprint paper.

"I'm -sniff- fine, Tera." Lillith replied, sniffling. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Sure you are, Lily." Tera said, dripping sarcasm. "At least tell me what you're working on?"

"Just a few things to -sniff- tide me over until I feel like sleeping." Lillith said, not looking at Tera.

"See you tomorrow morning then, Lily. Get some rest." Tera sighed, waving over her shoulder as she left the workshop.

Closing the door behind her, Tera turned to see her sister.

"She doing any better?" Cerulea asked, and Tera shook her head.

"I couldn't get anything out of her, she just clammed up. Then again, I'm not exactly the most personable person. Shame Flare isn't around, he'd be a great help." Tera replied, walking alongside her sister.

"Where is Flare?" Cerulea raised an eyebrow at the mention of the absent leader.

"Ceru, if I knew I'd've gone and grabbed the elusive bastard." Tera said, hands balling into fists. "I just hate feeling useless, you know?"

"Trust me, Tera, I know." Cerulea replied, wrapping a comforting arm around her sister.

The two walked in amicable peace towards their respective dorms, prepared to get some rest before the beginning of their second semester.

Cerulea split off, waving a goodnight to her sister as Tera waved in return. Now alone amongst the darkened evening halls of Beacon, Tera didn't head towards her dorm. Instead she made her way to the staff offices, namely Ozpin's office. He always said he had time for students, so she was hoping that extended to the current time.

Five minutes of walking, and a short elevator ride, and Tera stepped into the small room that joined the elevator with Ozpin's office.

"Enter." Came the voice over the intercom, and Tera stepped through the doorway.

"Sorry to bother you, Professor Ozpin." Tera greeted, and the headmaster waved away her concerns, gesturing to a chair opposite his desk and reaching for his mug of coffee.

"What can I do for you, Ms Verdant?" Ozpin asked. It was likely he already knew, the man was a mystery.

"Where is Flare?" Tera wasn't one for exercising politeness, and this was certainly not one of the exceptions to the rule.

"I'm afraid I have no idea where your team leader is currently. Mr Archid is proving to be rather elusive, if I must say." Ozpin said, and Tera quirked an eyebrow.

"How is he being elusive? Are you tracking him?" Tera asked, anger leaking into her voice.

"Not I, Ms Verdant, but the Atlesian Military is rather… concerned with his skill level, for a second year. General Ironwood is, or rather was, having him monitored, but they lost him quite quickly." Ozpin explained.

"So he fights a bunch of White Fang and suddenly he's so good Atlas is worried?" Tera exclaimed.

"Not quite, Ms Verdant. But that is the gist of it, in a more simple summary." Ozpin nodded along with what he said, sipping at his mug.

"What is it then?" Tera stood up from the seat she had taken, hands slamming on the table.

"Ms Verdant, please bare in mind that there is nothing I am able to do about this. What General Ironwood does is out of my jurisdiction. If he wishes to monitor a student as a potential threat, than he may do so, and nothing I say will be able to stop that." Ozpin said, placing the mug down in front of him.

"At least tell me who it is the general has following him." Tera asked, and Ozpin smiled.

"I'm afraid it isn't who, Ms Verdant, but rather what. And as for what, I am unable to tell you." Ozpin said.

"Thanks for the help, Professor." Tera said, as she walked out of his office. The moment she was in the elevator, she muttered to herself. "Completely useless."

* * *

Flare wasn't having the greatest luck with authority figures either, as it happened. Of course, he had to be the authority figure in this situation, so to speak. He had to pretend to be an evil thief with no compunction about killing civilians.

"Move or make a noise and you die." Flare growled, and the scientist didn't move or make a noise. So far so good.

"Who are you?" The scientist tremored out, quietly.

Flare answered by smacking the scientist over the back of the head with a blink assisted strike, the man crumpling from the sudden impact.

Flare left the man where he lay, and quickly stalked over to the door, peeking through the crack.

Somewhere, somehow, a divine being had decided to take mercy on Flare, as across the hallway Flare could see a heavy metal door, labeled clearly with the words 'SECURITY CENTER'.

Of course, it wouldn't just be a stroll down a hallway, as he could see six AK-200s, all armed and on high alert, looking for intruders.

Flare closed the door, and turned to think. "Vier, how accurate is the facial identification software on those AK-200s?" Flare asked, and his AI companion quickly accessed the relevant files.

"They… don't, Guardian. That's odd." Vier replied over the internal link. Flare could feel the frown.

"Well, that certainly makes this easier." Flare said, as he reached down and took the labcoat of the unconscious scientist. He quickly put it on, pulling the shemagh down like a scarf.

It was now or never, Flare supposed, as he opened the door into the hallway, quickly closing it behind him.

'Act like you belong here. Confidence is key.' Flare thought, as he held himself upright, shoulders back and head held high.

He walked down the corridor, the robots not paying him any attention. It was good that he wasn't carrying any visible weapons, as no doubt that would set off the alarms. He made sure not to look directly at any of the cameras, or any of the robot's faces. No sense in leaving a trail right to him.

He reached the door to the security center without trouble, which he was thankful for. Of course, his good luck couldn't last forever, and faced with a thick steel door with no visible access point was certainly a sign of his now apparent lack of luck.

"So, now what?" Flare subvocalized, Vier picking it up through the internal channel.

"Honestly, Guardian, I'm out of my depth here. Try knocking?" Vier replied.

Flare did so, rapping his knuckles against the tough metal. His luck hadn't run out, after all. He was certainly due for a massive case of bad luck soon, but he wasn't complaining. You could only test the fates so much.

"Yeah Doc, whaddya want?" A gruff voice came from inside, the metal door swinging open on pneumatic hinges. The hiss gave way to a tall man, decked in Atlesian combat armor.

"Just visiting." Flare said, shemagh donned, as he materialised Infinite Solution into his hands, pointing the business end of it's shotgun form at the chest of the guardsman.

The guardsman quickly threw his hands up in the air, and backed towards the rear of the room.

"All of you get up or he dies." Flare said, attempting to intimidate the other two guards.

They did so, and from the colouration on their armor Flare deduced that the guard he was holding hostage was the senior of the trio. The three of them had yellow trims, but the one he held had a bronze insignia on his shoulder, compared to the blank shoulders of the other two.

The door behind Flare hissed closed, courtesy of Vier accessing the systems whilst Flare had the guards busy.

"All three of you, lie on the floor with your hands on your heads. Toss your weapons to the side. Now." Flare commanded, and they did so, flinging their pistols to the side.

Flare decided leaving the three guards awake was pushing fate too much, and quickly removed their helmets. The senior guards, a man of about forty, looked back, only to have the butt of Infinite Solution smack into his forehead, rendering him unconscious. The other two had similar luck, and soon the three guards were decommissioned.

"Vier, you take care of the computer systems you haven't already. I'll get the safe." Flare quickly stalked over to where he could see the safe, a large metal box mounted into solid concrete with even more solid steel bolts. It was an old safe, using the oldest method of safe locks, the combination. This could take a while.

He bent down, and began slowly working his way through each potential combination. It would've been much easier if he had a helmet, with the technology that he possessed, but that was what this mission was about in the first place.

Vier, of course, finished way before Flare did, as Flare spun the combination wheel to the four position, than the one, then the one again.

This was going to take all night.

* * *

Lillith had finished her first sketch of the new weapon she was designing. It wasn't by choice, but she was still content. As long as she put the reason behind why she was designing weapons in the back of her mind, she could do so without worrying.

That didn't mean that there wasn't a lingering shadow in the back of her mind. She could feel it, always there, always lurking.

She'd hurt people. She knew that. They were bad people, but that wasn't really an excuse. Most people wouldn't feel guilt about what she had done, but she wasn't most people.

It was late, Lillith knew that. But she had work to do, and if it wasn't done soon it would build up, and build up, and then who knows, maybe she'd just boil over and she'd k-.

"Focus, Lillith." She reprimanded herself, shaking her head.

She could feel the shadow still, lurking like a spectre.

She began drawing another page, another weapon. She'd always loved weapons, the way their intricacies connected, forming a device capable of saving lives. Of course, that wasn't the purpose of a weapon.

A weapon was designed to kill. It didn't matter if it was to kill Grimm, because inevitably it would be pointed at a fellow person. Ten times out of ten.

That was a thing she had noticed. With all the weapons she had made, and had been told to make, she had noticed a pattern, and created a theory.

The Grimm weren't society's biggest threat. Society was.

What would happen were the Grimm to be extinguished, the threat that had loomed over the heads of human and faunus-kind for all their existence to simply vanish.

People were inherently greedy. They were wrathful, lustful, envious and gluttonous. They were all seven of those so called sins, and yet no one ever seemed to care.

It made her uncomfortable to think about, the fact that there had been wars fought in the past, even with the threat of the Grimm lurking about. To think that the threat of Grimm were a variable that hadn't stopped a war was terrifying, that the concept of self-destruction would never stop even with an outside threat.

It made Lillith's head hurt, and that just made that guilty wraith, the shadow, the spectre, linger.

So Lillith sat in the dimness of the workshop, and designed killing machines. Blades of sharpened steel, guns of overwhelming firepower.

And as she sketched, as she drew and designed, thought and theorised, she sobbed.

Because the apple never falls far from the tree.

* * *

"Finally!" Flare exclaimed, as the safe cracked open, the heavy door swinging wide on it's hinges.

Inside sat two things. The first thing was a small slip of paper, with '589' written on it in red ink.

The second thing was completely unexpected.

"Vier, is this what I think it is?" Flare asked his companion, who hovered over his shoulder.

"I believe so, Guardian." Vier replied.

The two stared at the small purple icosahedron that sat atop a black satin cushion, completely out of place in the hardened steel of the safe.

"That's a damned legendary, isn't it." Flare marvelled at his luck.

"Guardian, as much as I enjoy stealing from a military facility, are we done here?" Vier asked.

"No, of course not. This shouldn't be here. We still have another engram to retrieve." Flare said, grabbing both the engram and the slip of paper, dematerialising both.

"Of course, Guardian. Why did I even try." Vier sighed, as he too dematerialised.

Flare closed the safe, and quickly checked the state of the three guards.

"Still unconscious, good. Sleep tight, gentlemen." Flare said, as Vier opened the door. Flare re-donned the labcoat, and placed the shemagh against his neck like a scarf once again.

Before Flare walked out he dematerialised Infinite Solution, returning it back to his inventory, before he walked out of the security center, oozing confidence.

His next stop was the server room, and thanks to Vier accessing the security center's systems, he now had a very detailed map leading him exactly where he needed to go, with the minimum amount of guards.

Of course, it wasn't going to be a straight shot without any guards, as Flare found out as he rounded the corner.

Two yellow-trimmed Atlas guards stood at the door to the server room, rifles at rest.

Flare made a decision. He hoped it would work.

"Soldiers, I need access to the server room. If you would accompany me?" Flare addressed the two soldiers, as he walked up to them.

The two guards looked at each other, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of what they assumed was a scientist.

"Come on, chop to it. I have quite a few projects in progress, and I'm sure your commanding officer will not be happy to hear you are delaying progress." Flare said, making a series of guesses.

Flare's luck was holding out, as the two guards quickly snapped to attention, and stepped to the side, one of the two accessing the keypad next to them and entering in a code Flare didn't catch, the door to the server room hissing open.

Flare strode in, not looking at the two guards, but he still noticed how they both followed him inside. The door slid closed with a pneumatic hiss, and Flare walked over to where Vier was directing him, quickly accessing the server.

"Um, Sir, you can't access that server without direct authority from the head of facility." One of the guards said. His voice sounded naive, and Flare could tell that he was a recent graduate of whatever bootcamp Atlas had.

Flare quickly formulated a crazed-scientist persona. "Nonsense, soldier. I have the correct authority."

"Sir, the head of facility has to be _present_ for authority to be validated." The older, more gruff soldier said.

"I have a note from the head of facility in my left pocket. Could one of you grab it, I'm rather busy at the moment." Flare said.

The older guard nodded to the younger one, and he walked over, reaching a hand into Flare's pocket.

Of course, he didn't find anything, but he wasn't given much of an opportunity as Flare grabbed his arm and spun him around, other hand on his blade, which he placed against the younger guard's throat.

The older guard was quick on the draw, pistol out of it's holster and pointed at Flare.

"Hold your fire, soldier." Flare said, Vier dematerialising the shemagh only to rematerialise it on Flare's head, covering his face.

"You cowardly bastard." The older guard spat. Flare could feel the younger one tremble as he felt the blade press against his neck, between the seams of metal on his chest and his helmet.

"Tell me where the head of facility is and I'll let him go." Flare said, staring at the older guard through the slit in the shemagh.

"He's in this office. Now let him go." The older guard answered.

"Thank you." Flare blinked behind the older guard and wrapped him in a chokehold. The younger guard stumbled from the lack of a knife against his throat, and Flare quickly spun, using the older guard as leverage to dropkick the younger one into a rack of servers, whilst still maintaining the chokehold.

Even as the younger one fell, the older one buckled underneath the aura-enhanced chokehold. A few precious seconds of his trachea being forcibly closed, and the older guard went down, stumbling. Flare released his grip, wrenched the older guards helmet off and smacked him in the face with the handle of his knife.

The younger guard had clambered up from where he was sent flying, and had untangled himself from the cables. Flare darted over to him and grabbed him by the arm, wrenching it behind him and forcing him to his knees.

"Give me your armor. Now." Flare growled. It had intimidated a scientist, so why wouldn't it intimidate a young naive soldier?

It would. The soldier quickly complied, and tore off the armor. Left only in his underclothes, Flare quickly choked him out, the young guard quietly scrambling in resistance.

After the unpleasant business had been conducted, Flare dumped the labcoat on the unconscious young guard, and donned the Atlas soldier armor. This would be useful to keep, should he need to infiltrate another facility, and he made that mental note.

"Guardian, I have the first part of the code, and the vault location." Vier said, the internal link making Flare shiver slightly.

"Good. Let's get moving." Flare said, placing the helmet on his head. "Vier, can you link up with this helmet?"

"Of course, Guardian. I assume we aren't just leaving now, even though technically you have a helmet?" Vier asked, as he linked up to the soldier helmet.

"Pfft. Of course not, Vier. Why would we go to all this trouble just to steal any old helmet?" Flare rhetorically asked.

The second last place he had to visit was the head of facility's office. That wasn't too far a walk, and Flare grabbed a rifle from the older guard, along with a pistol. Quickly hooking the rifle to his back, and slotting the pistol into it's holster on his new belt, Flare left the room.

He began walking towards the head of facility's office, head held high and walking stiffly, as if he was at attention at all times. He passed by robots, who didn't pay him any attention, and he walked past guards, who nodded to him.

He was glad to not see any senior officers, as he still wasn't able to recognize the insignia that they wore, and what distinguished what rank.

After a few minutes of walking, he reached the office. He walked up to the door, and knocked.

"Enter." The voice was light and feminine, and as Flare walked inside he saw a woman sitting at a desk, typing away.

"Ah, the head of facility is currently not busy. Is he expecting you?" The woman, presumably his secretary, asked.

"No, he isn't. Do you mind if you tell him I'm waiting, I have something important to talk about with him." Flare said, adopting a slightly deeper tone.

"Of course. One moment." She said, before she leant over and pressed a button. "Doctor, you have a visitor. A guard. He says it's important."

There was an indistinguishable response, and the secretary waved Flare through. "Go on in, he'll see you now," she said.

Flare followed the instructions, and walked through, opening the door to the head of facility's office.

"Yes? What is it? You said it was important?" The doctor asked, eyebrow quirked.

Flare closed the door behind him. He looked at the doctor, an aging fifty-something man with ginger hair, frizzy and unkempt. Flare noticed the nameplate that sat at his desk.

"Doctor Polendina, correct?" Flare asked, confirming the doctor's identity.

"Yes, yes. Who are you?" The doctor asked.

Flare felt a pang of guilt. "Doctor, I'm afraid I need the third part of the vault code." Flare said, and the doctor looked confused.

"What could you possibly need that for?" The doctor asked.

Flare felt the pang of guilt throb harder. The doctor was a civilian. He shook it off and drew his pistol, aiming it at the doctor.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. I'm not asking again. Give me the code." Flare said, pointing the pistol at the doctor's forehead.

He could see the sweat on the doctor's forehead, and the old man staggered backwards.

"Ah. I-i see. Of course." The doctor stammered, and he reached into a drawer in the desk. Flare quickly flicked the safety off the pistol, in case the doctor was reaching for a weapon, but the doctor withdrew a small grey scroll.

"Allow me to just…" The doctor opened the scroll, and placed his thumb against the screen. A few seconds passed, and the screen lit up green, and read 'F7F'. Flare took the scroll from the elderly doctor's hand.

"I am sorry for this, Doctor." Flare said, and he struck the doctor on the head with the grip of the pistol, the doctor slumping into his leather chair.

Flare stuck the pistol back in it's holster, and he left the office. The secretary spared him a glance, and Flare nodded. The secretary assumed everything was fine, and went back to her screen.

Flare, now armed with the full code and the location to the vault, had only one destination left.

The vault itself.

* * *

 **Ooh, ending on a rather exciting cliffhanger if I do say so myself. The next chapter will be out sooner rather than later, I think, unless something comes up.**

 **Other than that, I really appreciate all the reviews I've been getting. They all help, and the few ideas people have been suggesting have been really interesting.**

 **Destiny 2 comes out for PC on Oct 24 here in Australia, and my brother bought it and is lending it to me when it comes out, so I'll be adding a few D2 elements soon. Should be a fun few days, as long as my PC can handle it. I'm really sick of being broke.**

 **Anyways, as always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	13. Chapter 13: Escape

**A/N: So, this chapter has the conclusion to the poorly thought-out heist, and a little bit of talky-talky. Enjoy.**

* * *

Of course, Flare had to get to the vault first. It wasn't a straight shot without security, but at least his disguise would assist him in circumnavigating his way around certain problems.

Vier had provided a holographic waypoint marker on the visor, and Flare walked down the corridors, past a series of massive windows, revealing expansive laboratories filled with scientists working on various projects.

Flare kept his head straight, not looking at whatever it was that the scientists were working on. He passed a few security guards, who nodded to him, and Flare nodded in return.

Flare was astoundingly lucky that he had managed to make it this far without being spotted. Of course, he wasn't done yet.

"Halt. State your business." The voice was deep and demanding. Flare looked to where it was coming from, and noticed two guards, with silver insignia on their shoulders. The two stood in front of the room that the vault was in.

"Sir. I have been sent by Doctor Polendina to retrieve the artifact." Flare said, being fed a line by Vier through the internal comms.

"Have you now. Show Lieutenant Opal the documents." The guard said, gesturing towards the smaller female guard.

"I'm sorry sir, you know the Doctor. He never gave me any documents." Flare said, Vier crossing his metaphorical fingers as the two hoped the bluff would be sufficient.

The male guard sighed, and shook his head, looking at the ground. "Of course not. Do you have the code?"

"Of course, sir." Flare replied, and the female guard quickly stepped aside, opening the door. The male guard walked in first, and Flare followed him, with the female guard bringing up the rear.

The vault itself was a massive steel door, covered in various bolts and rivets. There was a code console to the side, and the female guard, Lieutenant Opal, walked over and stood next to it. The male guard drew his rifle from his back and stood at the entrance.

Flare walked over to the console, and quickly began entering the code. He read it aloud as he did so. "A89589F7F."

The console bleeped, the screen turned green, and a loud _ker-chunk_ was heard as the vault door unlocked, and began to slowly swing open.

The vault door, now open, sat against the wall opposite Flare, and he peered inside the vault. The entire interior of the vault was full of crates of dust, various expensive artifacts and, in the very center of the vault, atop a small metal pillar, inside a glass case, was the legendary engram.

"Beautiful, isn't it." Lieutenant Opal said, marvelling at the glowing golden dodecahedron.

"I thought it was purple?" Flare asked, forgetting his disguise for a moment.

"It was, up until last week. Doctor Polendina lucked out and did some sciency-stuff, and it turned gold." The male guard said, as Flare walked towards it. "Now, whatever you do, don't open the container."

Flare ignored him and took the container off the metal pedestal, as he turned towards the two guards. Time for a little acting.

Flare dropped the container, and began spasming, making choking sounds as he collapsed to the floor.

"Ack! Argh! Huurk!" Flare choked out, as he flailed about.

Lieutenant Opal quickly ran over to him. "What's happening, Cobble?" She asked the male guard.

The male guard, Cobble, dropped his rifle and joined Opal at where Flare was spasming. "I don't know, Opal!" He cried out, and Flare could tell they were both off guard.

Flare stopped spasming and reached out, taking Opal's pistol from her belt and pointing it at her. As he did so, he kicked his leg out and struck Cobble in the chest, sending the man stumbling backwards.

Opal was quick on the draw, and she grabbed Flare by the arm, pushing the barrel of her pistol out of her face, only to have her helmet crack under the elbow strike that Flare performed, using her leverage against her to pull her in range.

Even as Opal stumbled backwards, Cobble was up, drawing his pistol out of his belt holster. Flare quickly leaped towards Cobble, glowing blue as he rolled, before he struck Cobble in the chest with an open-palm strike, blue energy flowing through his palm and impacting Cobble, sending him flying into the far wall, where he slumped, unconscious.

Opal threw off her cracked helmet, revealing a young twenty-something blonde with light-blue eyes and pale lips withdrawn as she gritted her teeth at Flare.

Opal wasn't unarmed, and she drew her collapsible sword, extending the blade and staring daggers at Flare.

Flare stood up from his crouched position, and adopted an open-palm stance.

The two stared at each other for a moment, and Opal took the initiative, charging forward and swinging her blade in a horizontal strike. Flare stepped back, and the blade swung harmlessly in front of him. Opal tried a vertical strike, and Flare used his open palm to push the blade to the side, sending both the strike and Opal wide, as she stumbled towards him, off balance.

Flare took the advantage, using the opening that had been provided to step close and strike Opal with an open palm, and she stumbled back, disoriented. Flare stepped close again and ended the fight once and for all with a flourishing spin-kick, his heel impacting with Opal's head as she crumpled beneath the force.

Flare, now victorious, walked over to where he had dropped the container. With a sharp kick, the transparent container snapped open, and Flare retrieved the glowing engram, dematerializing it into his inventory.

"Well that went well." Flare said, as he turned to leave.

It was that exact moment that Flare's luck finally ran out.

* * *

"Specialist Schnee, you understand your orders, don't you?"

Winter had received orders to be the elite specialist soldier in charge of security at Atlas Research Station Io.

She hated it. Winter wasn't exactly one to want to fight, but that didn't mean that she didn't enjoy fighting Grimm.

Anything was better than patrolling a boring facility on the border of Mantle, in the freezing cold.

Nothing ever happened. It was a good thing that nothing ever happened, it reflected well on Winter's ability as a specialist, but that didn't mean it wasn't boring.

That was the feeling Winter was experiencing currently, as she patrolled the hallways.

She approached the security center, and knocked.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Something was wrong. There should've been an answer by now.

She turned around, and tore open a panel on the wall, the shiny silver metal plate being flung aside to reveal a small console. Winter quickly typed in a code, and the metal door to the security center swung open, pneumatics hissing.

Winter quickly ran in, and noted the three helmetless guards, unconscious on the floor.

Winter didn't bother with the guards, and instead ran over to the consoles that stood in the room. She quickly initiated the silent alarm, and then checked the safe. She spun the safe, first digit six, second digit three, third digit six, and opened the safe.

It was empty. That was foreboding.

Winter quickly ran out of the center, and sprinted towards the vault. That would no doubt be their destination.

Rounding the corner, Winter saw that there were no guards at the entrance to the vault room. However, behind her was a squad of security, and a group of nearby AK-200s.

"I'll go in first, you stay here in case they escape me. Stay vigilant." Winter ordered, before she drew her saber and walked carefully towards the door.

She opened the door and pushed in, saber level as she checked the area.

"Well, this is awkward." She heard a voice, and turned to face where it came from.

On the ground was an unconscious lieutenant, and over at the far wall was another. Standing above the first guard was someone dressed in a guard uniform, but there was no way they were a guard. Winter would've recognised the voice if they were, and this person definitely did not have an Atlesian accent. The fact they were standing above an unconscious body was further evidence to prove that point.

"Surrender, or be killed." Winter said, indicating that she was not messing around.

"Wow, ok. Not even going to ask my name?" The question fell on deaf ears as Winter ejected her second blade into her other hand.

"Alright then. I guess this is unavoidable."

* * *

Externally, Flare was exuding an air of calm uncaring, as if he was treating Winter like she wasn't a threat.

Internally, Flare was worried. This was a fully trained huntress, and he had no idea about her capabilities. All he knew about the white haired woman was that she bore a startling resemblance to Weiss, and that she had a black and white crest on her shoulder, which Flare assumed was the crest of Black Ice.

Her saber, and it's smaller additional blade, were a threat he couldn't negate with his bare hands. In fact, he was going to struggle going toe to toe with the huntress with his knives.

It was time to try something new.

Flare focused inwards, and he brought forth his control over arc energy. A split-second of concentration and Flare managed to conjure a large staff, entirely made of arc energy. It crackled lightning, and glowed a bright blue.

Winter, for her part, back up a step, caught off guard by the control the thief was showing over their ability, though she shouldn't have been surprised. For someone to make it past her own personally created security plan without so much as setting off an alarm, it shouldn't surprise her that they were equally adept in direct combat.

The two looked at each other, eyeing their opponent up, looking for openings, for weaknesses, for anything that they could use to benefit themselves in the coming fight.

Flare launched quickly, striking with an overhead strike, as Winter threw up her larger blade, and the staff connected with the metal, crackling as Flare darted sideways, and darted back with a sweeping attack.

Winter backflipped, but was pressed against the wall of the small room. She didn't have much room to maneuver, and Flare used this to his advantage as he struck. Winter blocked the attacks, moving swiftly, but Flare could see that his blows were having an impact, and that her sabers were channeling small amounts of arc energy into her muscles, slowly weakening her.

Flare, however, didn't have very much time left to maintain the arc staff. It consumed his aura at a steady rate, and he had to either finish the fight or escape sooner than later.

Winter wasn't one to allow herself to lose. She quickly pushed through the constant attacks, and used her twin blades to wedge the arc staff against herself, using her smaller blade to block the staff, and her larger to pin it down. With a sharp heeled kick, Flare was sent stumbling back as she freed herself from the non-stop strikes, and suddenly she was on the offensive.

Flare was on the defensive now, dodging the constant slashes and stabs of the blades, and he finally had to dispel his arc staff.

Winter took it as a sign that she was winning, and she pushed her attack.

Unfortunately for her, she had overextended herself, and Flare used that to his advantage, dodging underneath a slower-than-usual strike and using his body weight to charge into Winter, who buckled under Flare's sudden impact. The two were sent into the ground, and Flare ended up atop Winter.

Flare, not one to squander an advantageous position when it presented itself, began raining down unarmed blows to Winter, his fists smacking against her aura as he struck blow after blow to her head.

Winter shook off the disorientation of the fall and the constant blows, and blocked the strikes with her blade. She slammed her smaller sword into the ground, and a glyph appeared around the two. Flare, caught off guard by what he had assumed was Weiss's semblance appearing around him, was sent flying into the ceiling, as Winter recovered flawlessly.

Flare fell, hitting the ground, and Winter was upon him, swinging her larger saber at his neck.

Flare quickly recovered from his impact and noticed the incoming strike, and he quickly dodged out of the way, his fist beginning to glow.

Flare withdrew the collapsible sword that was standard issue for Atlesian soldiers, and expanded the blade. Winter pushed the attack, and Flare blocked the two swords, the larger saber with his collapsible sword and the smaller with his knife, which he pulled from within the folds of his armor.

The two stood there for a split-second, staring at one another as they strained against the other's blades.

The deadly inverse-tug-of-war ended abruptly when Flare headbutted Winter, his helmet glowing blue as he struck. Thrown off and disoriented, Winter stumbled backwards, and Flare quickly threw a small ball of glowing orange energy at her.

Winter recovered just in time to see the orange ball hit the ground in front of her and explode into flames, which caught on her clothes. She stumbled back, quickly patting herself down from the fire, and Flare emerged from the smoke and flames.

He dropkicked Winter, and she was sent flying backwards, directly into the vault.

"It was fun while it lasted, Schnee." Flare said, with an exaggerated bow as the vault door closed, courtesy of Vier and his impeccable timing.

"BASTARD!" Winter screamed as the vault door closed on her, leaving her in the dark.

* * *

Flare was now stuck. With only one exit to the room, presumably surrounded by soldiers and robots, Flare had to figure out a plan.

"Do you think they'd be fooled by my 'injured soldier' disguise?" Flare asked his companion, who considered it for a second.

"It couldn't hurt to try, considering we have no other ideas. Down the corridor is an elevator that will lead straight to the cargo area. Adjacent to that is the hangar. I'm bringing the ship in close, so you just have to make it there." Vier said, and Flare stowed the collapsible sword away on his belt.

With a shake, Flare quickly mock-stumbled out of the doorway. "Schnee needs help in there!" He called out, adding a bit of 'injured soldier' to his voice.

The soldier's weren't fooled, but the robots were programmed to follow the orders of any Atlesian soldier, and they ran in.

"STAND DOWN!" Shouted the first guard in the line, wearing armor with red trims. Around him were soldiers wearing red and yellow trims.

"Ah fuck it." Flare said, channeling his inner Tera as he drew his pistol, and opened fire.

The guards, still somewhat unsure as to whether or not Flare was a hostile, reacted slowly, and Flare used that time to send two of the six stumbling down, their aura significantly lowered.

Of course, the guards opened fire after this, and their first salvo ricocheted down the corridor towards the rapidly approaching Flare.

Flare dodge-rolled, avoiding the majority of the gunfire as he closed the distance between him and the guardsmen, before he engaged them in melee, both the guards and Flare expanding their blades.

Flare struck first, a horizontal strike that hit the first guard, who blocked it. The hallway was rather cramped for two people, let alone five, and the guardsmen quickly backed up to allow space for their ally to move.

Flare never gave him the opportunity as he threw a knife at him with his other hand, the haft of the knife thudding into his helmet, cracking the metal. The guard stumbled back and one of the others caught him, whilst a third jumped in to assist.

Flare dodged the downwards strike that slammed into the ground next to him, and Flare quickly stepped on the man's wrist, before using the same leg to knee him in the face.

Four guards down, and the final two pushed in, and Flare grabbed one by the arm as he swung an overhead strike, and used him to block his friend's slash, before throwing him at his ally.

Flare leaped towards where the elevator was, and sprinted towards it. Vier opened the door, and Flare tossed a skip grenade behind him to prevent any guards from following him.

The door closed on Flare, and he watched as some of the guards drew their weapons and opened fire on the closing elevator doors. Flare stood stock still as they fired, and he darted his head left as the only bullet that could have hit him whizzed past.

A few moments of peace were appreciated, and Flare dematerialised the Atlesian weapons that he had, instead replacing them with Infinite Solution.

The elevator dinged, and the door slid open. Facing Flare was a very large amount of AK-200s.

"Well shit." Flare said, as the robots raised their rifles. Someone had briefed the robots that he was hostile.

Good thing they weren't exactly the strongest robots ever built. Any of the Vex would level squads of these things in mere moments.

Flare began to run, Vier directing him towards where the hangar was. The AK-200s opened fire, and Flare began consistently dodging the semi-accurate fire that pelted his way, as he made his way through the cargo bay.

He exited the cargo bay, and was suddenly under even more gunfire as a series of automatic turrets opened fire, bullets spraying across the tarmac of the hangar.

Flare kept running, and as bullets traced an outline of his shadow, he sprinted towards where the edge of the hangar was.

"Vier, please tell me the ship is there!" Flare cried out as he ran, before he jumped off the edge and began to freefall.

He didn't receive a response, and instead hit a large invisible object, floating in the air.

"Oh thank god." Flare exclaimed, as he stumbled around the outside of the object, before he managed to climb his way inside his ship.

Vier was already piloting the craft towards Beacon, stealth drive engaged, and Flare dematerialised his Atlesian armor into his ship's inventory.

On went his school uniform, and Flare decided that now would be a good time to get some sleep.

* * *

"That was, by far, one of the stupidest, most entertaining things we've ever done." Flare said, as he stepped out of the cockpit, stretching.

"Guardian, I normally disagree with you, but this is an instance where I will agree. That was one of the stupidest things we have ever done." Vier retorted, as he floated alongside the young guardian.

Flare checked the time on his scroll, before wincing. "Yeah, maybe it's a bit late."

Vier looked at Flare. "It's two in the morning, guardian. At this point it's early."

Flare laughed at the rare appearance of Vier's sense of humour, as he stepped in the elevator that would take him out of Beacon's hangar.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time I've had to go without eight hours of sleep. At least I'm not fighting a Vex invasion force this time." Flare said, as he waited for the elevator to reach the surface.

"The problem that you seem to have overlooked, Guardian, is that you have a team who are going to wonder where you have been all night." Vier replied.

"Ah. Right. Need a good excuse. How about 'I was doing some late night shopping for a helmet', does that sound good?" Flare asked his companion.

"Guardian, I honestly think that you should tell your team what we have told Ozpin and his cohort." Vier said, before he dematerialised, the elevator doors opening to an empty foyer.

Flare shook his head. "That's not a good idea. I don't want to blow their minds, we have enough problems to deal with as of right now. No point terrifying them."

"If that is what you feel is best, Guardian, do not let me dissuade you." Vier accepted, speaking through the internal link.

Flare walked in silence the rest of the way to his dorm, before he attempted to slowly, quietly open the door.

Like a wife whose husband had been out drinking, Tera was waiting on one of the couches. Unlike a wife whose husband had been out drinking, however, Tera was fast asleep, completely out to the world.

A quick peek into the dorm's bedroom proved true for the other two, Lillith curled up in a ball and Iren splayed out on his mattress, barely staying on it.

Flare quickly crept into the bathroom and, unwilling to shower due to the noise it would make, quickly grabbed a cloth and ran some water over it, the poor man's shower.

It had been a lot of effort, and Flare was exhausted, even if it didn't seem like it from his outward appearance.

Ten minutes of bathing passed, before Flare crept into his bed, where he promptly fell into a dreamless state of unconsciousness that is only usually brought on by incredible physical exercise, which Flare had been performing for the majority of the night.

Flare slept deeply, and undisturbed.

* * *

"WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU LAST NIGHT!?" Tera screamed.

Flare woke up instantly, quickly drawing a knife from underneath his pillow and holding it in a reverse grip, the back of the blade pressed against his arm.

Tera leaped back a step, and Flare quickly relaxed his stance.

"Hell, Tera, don't scare me like that." Flare exclaimed, as he stowed the knife back under his pillow.

"Oh, scare you? Wouldn't want to do that, now would we." Tera said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Flare, why do you sleep with a knife under your pillow?" The voice that asked the question was more earnest, and Flare could see Lillith poking her head in the door.

"In case I ever need it." Flare replied to Lillith's question, before addressing Tera. "I was hunting down a new helmet in town. Figured I'd need one."

Tera frowned, but Lillith placed a hand on her shoulder, and the taller girl relented, sighing. Tera walked out of the room, and Lillith, before leaving, gave Flare a slight nod.

Flare accepted the gesture, assuming it represented forgiveness, and walked out after the two girls, to the signs of Iren hurriedly chewing away at a plate of pancakes. He noticed Flare, and quickly handed a similarly sized plate of the delectable flat goodness, and Flare nodded in thanks, digging in with the same gusto as Iren.

Tera and Lillith had apparently let the boys stay asleep for longer than they had, in order to take advantage of the shower. Now, with barely any time left before classes began, Flare and Iren would have to rush, and Flare would be the one to draw the metaphorical short straw, in this instance, as Iren had tactically given Flare breakfast before he could have the opportunity to take advantage of the opening that he hadn't noticed until it was far too late.

They had ten minutes until they had to leave for their first class, which, according to Lillith, the most organised of the four, was combat class with Professor Goodwitch, which Flare was _not_ looking forward too.

Iren was a good guy, and that was indicated by the fact that he took a total of three minutes in the shower, of which Flare was very thankful for.

Flare took a few minutes in the shower, grateful for even the lukewarm water, and soon joined his team as they began to leave.

First period was a boring affair, with a spar between Ren and Sky Lark, a member of CRDL. Ren, naturally, mopped the floor with Sky, and as such was subsequently celebrated by the ever excited Nora. Flare barely paid any attention to the fight, mostly using the time to power nap.

Second period was even less exciting than the first, due to the fact that Oobleck had decided that he wanted to go over older content from the previous semester, before resuming the curriculum that they would be following for the rest of the year.

Flare zoned out Oobleck, after he started talking about the faunus rights revolution, partly because he had heard it all before, and partly because he had heard of similar things in Earth's own history.

Lunch was a more exciting affair, and whilst there was no food fight, there was food. Plenty of it, in fact, as the students from the other Hunter Academies joined the students of Beacon to feast, and as such there was four times more noise, four times less space, and four times more failed attempts to hit on various students. Tera was actually asked out by a younger first year from Haven, but was promptly shut down by both Tera and the boy's team.

The third period, of just Lillith and Flare, was far more interesting, and not just because the two got to discuss the afternoon plan with Ruby. Flare had managed to catch Professor Wright on a very good day, because the professor was more than happy to take a look at the engrams that Flare had acquired. According to the professor, it would take the entire period and the entire fourth period for him to decipher and understand them, in order to decode them, but he asked that Flare pick up the results after classes.

Fourth period was the most boring out of the entire day, as listening to Port on any day was a pain, not to mention the anxiety that all of RWBY, along with Lillith felt. Flare, mostly immune to anxiousness of prospective missions, was still anxious, wondering exactly what would drop from the engrams.

Of course, before Flare could pick up his rewards, and before any of them could make a strike against the White Fang and Roman Torchwick, they first had to make it through Port's lesson without committing suicide.

That was the real challenge.

* * *

 **Well, that was certainly an exciting chapter, I hope. Most of the heist was written in a single day, actually, whereas the rest was written over the course of a few days during the downtime of my Civ V multiplayer match. Finally bought a copy, instead of borrowing a friends, and that was probably a bad time to do so, considering I'm becoming a little more pressed for time. Don't worry, this is still a priority, so you'll still be getting weekly chapters.**

 **As for reviews, thank you all for them. I read all of them, and do my best to include anything people mention, albeit in my own way.**

 **And, as always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	14. Chapter 14: Evening

**A/N: Hello everyone, sorry about the late chapter. Hopefully the length makes up for that. It's a long one. Well, to be honest, it's the longest chapter so far, and I had to cut it off. It was going to be longer, but I'd rather not write like 14k words for 1 chapter. That's a bit much.**

 **POLL HAS BEEN CANCELLED, I'M AN IDIOT.**

 **Final thing before we start. Destiny 2. Few things about it will be addressed at the after-chapter AN, so make sure to read it.**

 **Enjoy, folks.**

* * *

" _What's one guardian against the world?"_

" _A chance."_

* * *

"Well, it was certainly interesting, if not incredibly draining. I hope you enjoy your new toys, Mr Archid."

Professor Wright stepped aside, and let Flare into his office, where Flare's attention was immediately grabbed by the two objects that sat on the Professor's desk.

The first object was something he had never seen before. It was a helmet, entirely smooth, of varying white and silver. It was almost an orb, and had no visible visor or plating whatsoever. It was incredibly unique, and Vier had no data on it at all, except a name.

Corporeal Lightweight.

Flare was impressed at the helmet, and he quickly grabbed it off the table, and placed it on his head. The helmet quickly automatically synced with the rest of his armor, and with Vier's internal systems.

The entire helmet looked as if it was solid metal, but from the inside, Flare could see that it was not the case. The entire thing was more like a giant transparent visor, and Flare marvelled at how it felt, comfortably wrapped around his head.

His focus turned to the other object that sat on the table, the result of the extra legendary engram he had managed to retrieve.

The object in question was a massive sword, and his helmet, now linked up with Vier's systems, immediately identified it.

Minimal Effort.

The sword, a single-edged longsword, was sleek, and was made of a material that neither Flare, Vier or Professor Wright had any luck identifying, and it glowed an ominous red when Flare picked it up.

What surprised Flare the most was the vibration he felt when he grasped it, though the vibration wasn't from the sword itself. Instead, the vibration came from Infinite Solution, which he wore stowed in it's usual place on his back.

Quickly drawing Infinite Solution from his back, he held the two weapons next to each other, and Flare noticed a message pop up on his scroll.

'Merge?'

That was interesting. Flare clicked the option, and a loading bar appeared on his scroll. The more interesting result of that was the immediate response of both Infinite Solution and Minimal Effort, as Infinite Solution seemingly exploded into a burst of mechanical tendrils, which grabbed ahold of the sword, and pulled the sword into itself, before Infinite Solution reformed itself into its standard rifle form.

"Huh." Both Flare and Professor Wright said, as Infinite Solution ceased vibrating, and sat still in Flare's hand.

With a quick tap of Flare's scroll, Infinite Solution's rear slid open, and out slid a handle. Flare grabbed the handle with his other hand, and drew, the sword forming from inside the weapon.

In his hand, he held Infinite Solution, and in his other he held Minimal Effort, both weapons linked into his scroll, which was in turn linked into Flare's internal system.

"Well, this is cool." Flare said, and Professor Wright smiled.

"Indeed, Mr Archid. Do have fun." Professor Wright said, as he ushered the newly equipped guardian out of his office.

Flare nodded a thank you, and proceeded towards the first year dorms.

He had an appointment to keep, after all.

* * *

"I thought that class would never end." Blake said, as she tightened the wraps around her hands.

"Hey, at least you haven't had to deal with over a year of Port now." Lillith said, as she checked Problem and Solution, making sure the slide on her pistols wasn't jamming, as she ejected spare rounds, catching them in her lap.

"Alright, guys, today's the day! The investigation begins!" Ruby said, swinging her legs back and forth as she sat atop her bunk-bed, which was precariously dangling from the roof by a series of ropes.

"I'm glad to see we're taking this _so_ seriously." Weiss said, as she idly spun the chamber of Myrtenaster, as she sat on the lower bed.

Ruby leaped down as she said this, nearly landing atop the white-haired heiress.

"Hey, we've got a plan! That's… moderately serious." Yang said, as she set about chambering twelve gauge shells into Ember Celica.

"Right, does everyone remember their roles?" Ruby asked, and Weiss stood up to join the smaller leader.

"You and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem." Weiss reiterated.

"According to the intel Flare provided, the White Fang will be holding a regular faction meeting to hand out orders and recruit new members, right here in Vale. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning." Blake said, as she placed Gambol Shroud on the magnetic plate that sat on her back, specifically for that purpose.

"I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows _everything_ going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard…" Yang said, as she considered the implications of her part in their plan.

"Flare and I'll join whoever needs the help most, depending on what happens. Think of us as your cavalry." Lillith confirmed, and Ruby nodded assent.

"Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found." Ruby pumped her fist. "Let's do this!" She cried out, only to be startled.

"Yeah!"

All five of the girls quickly spun around, and looked to where the voice had come from.

Through the open window, hanging off a tree branch by the tail, was Sun.

"Sun!" Blake exclaimed, surprised.

"How did you get up there?" Yang asked, curiosity piqued.

"Ah, it's easy, I do it all the time." Sun answered.

"You do what!?" Weiss shrieked.

"I climb trees all the time!" Sun said without missing a beat, as he flipped inside, ignoring Weiss's scowl. "So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

Blake stepped forward. " _We_ are going to investigate the situation as a team."

"Sorry, Sun. We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to." Ruby said, taking up the diplomatic mantle.

"That's dumb! We should always get friends involved. That's why I brought Neptune!" Sun said, gesturing out the window.

All five girls quickly rushed to the window and peeked their heads out, staring at the blue-haired self-titled intellectual as he clung to the edge of the building, atop a small ledge.

"'Sup?" He greeted, attempting to remain suave even as his footing demanded he give.

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked, confused.

"I have my ways." Neptune replied, pushing Ruby into a further state of confusion. "Seriously, though, can I come in? We're like, _really_ high up right now."

"It's not that high, honestly." Another voice came from the other side of the girls, and they quickly twisted to stare at the newcomer.

"It's only like, three stories up. Quit whining." Flare said, as he casually held onto his knife, which was plunged into the stonework of the building.

"Alright, I'm done trying to understand boys." Ruby exclaimed, pushing herself away from the window. The rest of her team and Lillith followed suit, as Neptune, followed by Flare, clambered inside, one more skillfully than the other.

"Alright. I'll go with Weiss; Sun, you can go with Blake. And Neptune, you can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner. Everyone good?" Ruby reissued orders.

"Actually, Ruby, why don't you go with Yang? After all, she is your sister." Weiss said, attempting to persuade Ruby.

"But, Weiss, who would go with you then?" Ruby asked.

"Well…" Weiss looked like she was considering her options, but most of the people in the room, save Ruby, knew exactly who she would pick.

"I guess Neptune could come with me?" Weiss said, confirming everyone's suspicions.

Ruby cracked up laughing, obviously missing the social cues, and Flare took a little bit of pity on the young heiress.

Ruby then grabbed ahold of the back of Weiss, and dragged Weiss out of the room full of stunned hunters-and-huntresses-to-be.

"Well, we should probably get to it." Flare said, as the rest began making their way out.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

"Wow! I forget just how big the CCT looks up close!" Ruby exclaimed, as she stared up at the looming tower.

"You should see the one in Atlas!" Weiss said.

"That was the first one, right?" Ruby asked, as the two walked towards the entrance.

"Correct. Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the great war." Weiss said, proud to display her home kingdom, and her knowledge thereof.

"Ooh, look at me! My name's Weiss! I know facts! I'm rich!" Ruby mocked, snorting into her hands as Weiss frowned.

"Don't be a pest! Besides, the only reason we're here is because _you_ like the tower so much. We could just have easily made a call from the library!" Weiss exclaimed.

"I know, but it's so _coool_! Ooh, I'm going to take a picture!" Ruby said excitedly, grabbing her scroll from her pocket. In her excitement, she lost her grip, the small device being launched from her hands, bouncing across the paved floor, coming to rest at a pair of feet.

"Oh! You dropped this!" The pair of feet said, as a hand picked up the offending device.

"Penny!?" Ruby exclaimed, shocked.

"Uhh…" Penny responded, obviously not expecting it to be Ruby.

"Where have you been? We haven't seen you since that night at the docks!" Ruby said.

"Sorry, I think you're confused." Penny said, before hiccupping. "Uh… I've got to go!" She quickly turned away and walked off.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Ruby said, as she made her way to follow. "You go make your call! I'll meet up with you later!" She called towards her partner, who sighed and nodded.

Ruby ran towards the rapidly retreating figure, and quickly used her semblance to catch up, the immediate burst of speed hitting as she skidded to a stop a second later.

"Penny, where have you been? It's been weeks!" Ruby exclaimed.

"There seems to be a… misunderstanding." Penny said evasively.

"What?" Ruby said, shocked. Penny continued walking away. "Penny, is everything okay?"

When Penny didn't answer, Ruby grabbed her arm. "Penny, please stop!"

Penny did so, turning to face the smaller girl.

"Look, I don't know what's wrong, but you have to listen to me! Those guys we fought at the docks, we think they're up to something big, something bad! I need you to tell me what happened to you that night! Please... As a friend." Ruby laid out everything to the redhead.

"It isn't safe to talk here." Penny said, as she looked around.

Ruby was confused, but that was nothing new for today.

* * *

The CCT, from afar, was a towering pillar of technological advancement, and was responsible for many things that allowed humanity, and by that extent, faunus-kind, to exist with less fear of the Grimm.

The inside was as magnificent as the outside, a marvel of advanced technology.

One such marvel was the virtual intelligence, a dumb AI, so to speak. This was what Weiss was currently conversing with, as she stepped into the elevator.

"Hello. Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?" The VI asked.

"I'd like to go to the communications room, please." Weiss said.

"Absolutely. Could you please place your scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?" The VI asked, and Weiss complied, placing her scroll against the small terminal. Both her scroll and the terminal lit up green.

"Perfect. Thank you, Ms Schnee." The VI said, and the elevator began ascending.

Weiss was nervous, not that she would ever admit that out loud. The elevator doors opened, and Weiss walked out, towards the front desk. Behind the desk sat a hologram of a woman, dark hair in a bun, wearing a business suit similar in design to the Beacon uniforms.

"Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit center. How may I help you?" Asked the VI.

"I need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas." Weiss said.

"If you could head over to Terminal Three, I'll patch you through." The VI responded.

Weiss thanked the VI, and made her way over to the terminal, inside a small cubicle. Taking a seat, she took a deep breath.

The screen lit up, and the video feed of a short-haired brunette came up, the logo of the Schnee Dust Company behind her.

The woman didn't look up as she began her standard greeting. "Thank you for calling the Atlas- Oh! Miss Schnee! Good Afternoon! Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well."

"No thank you. I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list." Weiss said pleasantly, as she inserted her scroll into a slot at the top of the keyboard.

The SDC operator looked to the side, checking the list. "I see. If you don't mind, what may I ask is this for?"

"School project." Weiss said quickly.

"Um… There are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am." The operator said nervously.

"Well, then, I'll be sure to treat them with care." Weiss said, dismissing any problems.

The operator was still nervous, but she valued her job too much to annoy the future heiress. "Right… Very well. The data is being transferred to your scroll now."

The sound of beeping emitted from Weiss's scroll, and she withdrew the device from it's slot in the keyboard.

"Wonderful! That will be all, then." Weiss said.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?" The operator asked.

The smile dropped from Weiss's face, but only for a moment. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, then… Have a nice day!" The operator said, as the call dropped.

Weiss's smile fell, this time a more permanent drop of her facade.

* * *

"I wish I could help you, Ruby, but I don't know anything about those men." Penny said, as she and Ruby strolled down the street, Penny keeping a cautious eye out.

"Well, what happened to you that night? We were all together, and then you just disappeared! Were you kidnapped?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, no! Nothing like that!" Penny exclaimed.

"Then where did you go?" Ruby asked, keen for an explanation.

"I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but... You have to understand, my father loves me very much, he just worries a lot." Penny explained.

"Believe me, I know the feeling." Ruby said, as she grinned at Penny, who returned the gesture. "But why not let us know you were okay?"

"I… was asked not to talk to you. Or Weiss. Or Blake. Or Yang. Or anybody, really." Penny answered.

"Was your dad that upset?" Ruby asked, surprised.

"No, it wasn't my father…" Penny began, before she tapered off, turning to look into the square that she and Ruby were passing.

The square in question was set up for a display, a squad of six AK-130s standing in front of a set of containers, all marked with the spear-and-shield marking that identified them as Atlas property. In between the containers was a holographic projector, with the holographic form of General Ironwood standing there, addressing the crowd.

"The AK-130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years, and they have done a fine job, wouldn't you agree?" The obvious recording of Ironwood said, as the audience clapped. The AK-130s in question performed a stiff, jerky bow.

"But… the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation, and 'fine'... Well, that's just not good enough, is it? Presenting, the Atlesian Knight-200!" The recording of the general said, throwing his arms wide, the containers opening.

Out stepped, or more accurately, _kicked,_ a full squad of six AK-200s, who promptly began posing and showing off above their predecessors.

"Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly, a little less scary. These models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone! Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men and women from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still situations that will undoubtedly require… a human touch." The general said.

It was this last part that caught Ruby's attention.

"Ruby?" Penny said nervously, looking around.

"So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company, are proud to introduce… the Atlesian Paladin!" Ironwood's recording said, before it was replaced by an holographic image of a massive armed mech, all metal and industrial, without the sleek design that was present in the AK-200s.

Ironwood's voice remained, even if his holographic presence did not. "Now, we couldn't have him here for you today, but these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year!"

"Whoa…" Ruby said, awestruck.

"Ruby? Maybe we should go somewhere else." Penny said, concerned.

At this, the two Atlesian soldiers that stood to the side of the presentation finally noticed the two girls, the first one pointing them out to the second. The second one, noticing the two, quickly pressed his hand against his helmet, speaking into it.

Penny began to back away, before turning and bolting into a sprint, which in turn snapped Ruby out of her weapon-induced stupor.

"Penny! Wait! Where are you going?" Ruby called towards the rapidly retreating figure of Penny.

Ruby noticed the soldiers sprinting towards her and where Penny had been standing, and she quickly made a decision. Ruby sprinted after Penny, throwing her lot with her friend, as the two soldiers chased the two.

The two ran into a winding alley, Ruby just behind Penny.

"Down here! She went this way!" One of the soldiers shouted, gesturing towards the alley.

Penny and Ruby ran across a street, the soldiers hot on their heels. One of the soldiers was slowed by the honking of a car, as he crossed the street. Laying his arms against the front of the car, he braced, and the sound of mechanical servos hissed as he stopped the car. His partner ignored the issue, and continued pursuit.

Ruby still hadn't managed to catch up with Penny, but she quickly gave up on that, seeing a flimsy support, covered in crates. Whipping out Crescent Rose, Ruby slashed at the support, and sent the impromptu wooden avalanche tumbling down to block the path.

Step two of her improvised plan came when Ruby saw Penny just in front of her. A brief aura-assisted jump had Ruby scoop Penny up in her arms as she landed feet-first on the wall, before she activated her semblance.

"This way!" She said, as she strained against the opposing G-forces, launching off the wall down another alley.

The strain proved to be too great, as Ruby faltered, stumbling. The two crashed into the ground a short while away, and whilst Penny hid the ground and stopped fast, Ruby maintained her momentum due to her lighter weight, and she bumped, tumbled and bounced onto the street.

Ruby began to stand slowly, still dazed, when she heard incredibly loud honking. Ruby turned to the side, and noticed the rapidly approaching armored van.

What should, by all accounts, have been a rather unavoidable accident, was suddenly turned into a visual marvel, as Penny darted in, pushing Ruby to the side, hands out.

The van impacted with Penny's outstretched hands, and the ground beneath her buckled and cracked, the van being lifted into the air from the impact, the hood of the vehicle buckled and dented.

"Penny?" Ruby asked uncertainly, eyes wide.

"Are you okay?" Penny asked the driver, the owner of From Dust Till Dawn nodding in shock.

Penny, now noticing the looks she was getting, and at the murmuring, and she quickly made an attempt at a getaway, knocking past Ruby.

The knock shook Ruby out of her stupor. "Penny! Come back!" Ruby cried out, before once again pursuing her retreating friend.

A crowd had formed around the impacted vehicle, and the soldiers that had been pursuing them found they had lost their target.

"Um… Uh…" Penny muttered, as she looked around.

"Penny! Please! What is going on!? Why are you running? How did you do that?!" Ruby asked, exasperated.

"I-I can't! Everything's fine!" Penny said nervously, hiccupping. "I don't want to talk about it!"

"Penny, if you can just tell me what's wrong, I can help you!" Ruby said.

"No! No, no! You wouldn't understand…" Penny began, trailing off into uncertainty.

"Let me _try_! You can trust me!" Ruby exclaimed.

"You're my friend, right? You promise you're my friend?!" Penny said worriedly.

"I promise." Ruby said softly.

Penny stared silently for a moment, then looked at her hands. "Ruby… I'm not a real girl."

Penny held out her hands, and Ruby could see that where would normally be flesh and blood, was metal.

Ruby was surprised.

"Oh."

* * *

"Penny, I-I don't understand…" Ruby began.

"Most girls are born, but I was made. I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an aura." Penny explained, before she turned her head to the side. "I'm not real…"

Ruby took Penny's hands in her own. "Of course you are. You think just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts that makes you any less real than me?"

"I don't… um…" Penny began, before leaning in close to Ruby's face. "You're taking this… extraordinarily well."

"You're not like those things we saw back there." Ruby said, tapping Penny on the chest. "You've got a heart, and a soul; I can feel it!"

"Oooh, oh Ruby! You're the best friend anyone could have!" Penny said, as she scooped Ruby into a tight hug, lifting Ruby off her feet and shaking her back and forth.

"I can see why your father would want to protect such a delicate flower!" Ruby ground out, voice muffled and strained by the hug.

"Oh, he's very sweet. My father's the one who built me. I'm sure you'd love him!" Penny said, as she released her grip.

"Wow. He built you all by himself?" Ruby asked, giggling.

"Well, almost! He had some help from Mr Ironwood." Penny explained.

"The General!? Wait, is that why those soldiers were after you?" Ruby asked.

"They like to protect me too!" Penny answered.

Ruby scoffed. "They don't think you can protect yourself?"

"They're not sure if I'm ready yet... One day, it will be my job to save the world, but I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world, and test myself in the Tournament." Penny replied.

"Penny, what are you talking about? Save the world from _what_? We're in a time of peace!" Ruby exclaimed.

"That's not what Mr Ironwood said…" Penny said confusedly, before she was interrupted.

"Check down here!" The call was gruff, and was definitely the soldiers.

"You have to hide!" Penny said suddenly, before she lifted Ruby above her head effortlessly.

"Penny, wait! What are you doing? You don't have to go with them! I can help you!" Ruby said fruitlessly, as Penny unceremoniously dumped her in the nearby dumpster. Penny held the lid up enough that she could still talk to the small scythe-wielder.

"It's okay, Ruby. They're not bad people; I just don't want to get you in trouble. Just promise me you won't tell anyone else my secret. Okay?" Penny asked, staring gravely at Ruby.

"I promise." Ruby said.

Penny slowly closed the lid, as Ruby lowered her head. Penny turned to face the soldiers, who were rapidly approaching, and Ruby held the lid open a slight bit, peeking through the gap.

"There she is!" One of the soldiers shouted, as he and his partner gained ground.

"Sal-u-tations, officers!" Penny greeted happily.

"Why were you running? And what happened to the other girl?" The first soldier asked, panting.

"What girl? I've been by myself all day!" Penny said, hiccupping.

"You shouldn't cause such a scene." The first soldier said.

"Are you okay?" The second soldier asked.

Penny showed her palms to the soldiers. "Just a scratch."

"Penny, your father isn't going to be happy about this." The first soldier said, shaking his head.

"Please, just come with us." The second one ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Penny chirped happily, as she followed the two soldiers out of the alley.

Ruby, having watched the exchange, looked on in sadness.

Of course, Ruby couldn't maintain that expression as a rat, swarming around her left foot, screeched.

The suddenness of the screech, accompanied by the existence of the rat itself, caused Ruby to lose her footing, the lid closing on her.

"Ah!"

* * *

"Come on, my friend's right in here!" Yang said to Neptune, as she dismounted from Bumblebee. Neptune, barely conscious from terror, shook his head to re-establish his appearance, before he too dismounted, following the buxom blonde as she led the blue-haired boy towards the building. "Cool… and where exactly is… here?" He asked, as the blonde walked towards the entrance to the building.

Neptune didn't receive an answer, as the bouncer noticed the approaching blonde.

Inside of Junior's Club was mostly empty of customers, considering how early it was in the evening, and the fact that it was a tuesday night. Junior himself was behind the bar, where he spent most of his time, adjusting his cuffs.

Other men, all wearing the typical black suit and red tie that was the uniform of his gang, were walking about, stocking bottles, moving boxes, and standing around.

"Hurry, close the door - she's coming!" A man in the uniform shouted, as he ran inside. Both he and another quickly rolled the doors shut, barricading it with themselves.

"What the hell do you two idiots think you're doing?!" Junior shouted at them, as he stepped out from behind the bar.

The response was incoherent as the doors were blasted open, sending the two men flying towards the ground, where they impacted with a muffled grunt.

"Guess who's back!" Yang called out, as she emerged from the smoke.

As if the eight guns that were pointed in her face weren't enough to provide evidence that these men were _not_ happy to see her, the anger on Junior's face was surely enough to clue in even the most oblivious of people.

Yang was not oblivious, merely annoyed, as she stared at the bear-headed DJ that stood on a raised platform above the dance floor, cowering behind his little stand. The music, coming straight from a record atop a player, was messing up, and the glare from Yang quickly convinced the DJ to lift the needle.

"Yeah, so could you define 'friend' for me?" Neptune asked, as he approached from behind Yang.

"Stop, stop! Nobody shoot." Junior said, as he pushed his way through his henchmen. "Blondie, you're here! ...Why?"

 _You_ still owe me a drink." Yang said, as she grabbed him by the arm, leading him over to the bar.

"Whoa-ho-ho, what a woman…" Neptune said, staring at the commanding presence of Yang. He turned to look around, catching the appraising glances of a pair of twins, one dressed in a white strapless dress, the other in a red strapless dress.

"'Sup?" Neptune greeted.

"Whatever." The synced, walking away, noses in the air.

Neptune quickly joined Yang at the bar, where she was in the midst of interrogating Junior.

"I don't know!" Junior exclaimed, as he put down his glass.

"How can you not know?" Yang asked.

"I haven't talked to him! I haven't even _seen_ him since the night you first came in here." He said, as he leant over to point in Yang's face. "He paid up front, I lent him my men, and none of them ever. Came. Back."

Neptune decided this was the moment for him to use his incredible intelligence to assist Yang, and prove exactly how skilled he was to the beautiful huntress-in-training.

"So where did they go?" He asked, the epitome of useful manliness.

Junior regarded him for a long moment, obviously considering Neptune a threat to his own manliness.

"What kind of stupid question is that? They never came back!" He exclaimed in Neptune's face, before he turned to Yang. "Who is this guy?"

Yang quickly pushed Neptune out of the way with one hand. "Don't worry about him; worry about _me_ if I don't find out what I want!" Yang said, and Neptune, thoroughly humiliated, quickly stood to attention.

"I told you everything! Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them, which is _something I can relate to!_ " The last part of his sentence was directed at the men who lingered around, all of which grumbled various cusses under their breath, walking off to perform various jobs.

"Come on, Neptune." Yang said, as she stepped away from the bar.

Neptune followed along, hands in his pockets. "We get everything we need?"

"Well, we got everything we can. Hopefully the rest of the team is having better luck."

* * *

Flare and Lillith were having a rather pleasant dinner, if they had to summarize. Whilst the others had all split off to do some investigating, Flare and Lillith had no such orders, and were effectively back-up if there were any problems.

There would be, Flare could tell. Team RWBY were a professional hazard, and were some of the best trouble-magnets he had ever had the pleasure of being ordered to protect.

It wasn't that he was complaining, no, never. It was just that… Well, his last mission had ended a little sourly, and he was hoping that this wouldn't be a repeat performance. Of course, this time he wasn't deep in White Fang controlled territory against enemies he had never seen before.

Distinctly human enemies. That was the biggest problem. He didn't have a problem with killing the Hive, or the Cabal, or the Vex, or the Fallen. They all died without problems, a bullet or six to the head, depending on the enemy, but they still went down in half a mag at least.

Humans, and by that extent, Faunus, were different. Aura made his job so much more difficult. If a person, trained in aura usage, could contend with a Guardian, with at least a year's experience killing things far more dangerous than he, then he would need some new tactics.

You couldn't just out-jump a smart opponent. Flare was still capable of dealing with smart opponents, but he always preferred his enemy to just soak up the bullets and crumple under the attack, rather than never take a hit.

Some Hunter he was. He was going to have to ask for advice.

He could already imagine Cayde-6 laughing at him. Of course, to ask for advice would be to provide Cayde with more ammo against the young Guardian, but he needed it regardless.

That wasn't even to begin to mention his newfound Aura.

Without distinct scientific basis to provide his reasoning on, Flare had no idea what he was dealing with.

In that way, it was very similar to the Light, but the similarity didn't end there.

They were too similar to be different things. One had to have originated from the other, and considering the feeling it gave him, it was most likely to have originated from the Traveller.

Now that was a train of thought that could consume him for days, trying to figure out the intricacies of what he had been roped into.

If the Traveller had once touched down on Remnant, then it would make sense for a bastardized form of Light to take the place of actual Light, and therefore be referred to as Aura.

Ikora would probably know more, or at least be able to come up with a more accurate, concise summary.

He'd have to get Vier to summarize his thoughts on the matter, and send a report.

"Flare, you okay?" Flare snapped back to reality, as Lillith stared at him questioningly.

"Oh, sorry. Got lost in my thoughts for a moment. What's up?" Flare asked, shaking his head to loosen the thoughts that clouded his mind.

"I was just wondering something. How'd you end up in Vale anyway, if you grew up in the wilds?"

That was a question that Flare wasn't necessarily prepared for. Of course, a mix of indirect truth and blatant mis-truth would be the best way to answer.

"It's a really long story, but I'll make it short. I was roaming around, just helping out and killing Grimm. I eventually found my way around to Patch, although the details of how I got there, along with what I was doing before, in detail, was lost to me. No idea how. I ran into Ruby fighting a horde of beowolves, and I saved her from one she had missed. She took me to her place, her father pointed me in the direction of Ozpin, and he placed me with you guys. Simple story, really." Flare answered, as the two walked about Vale, the evening lights turning on as the sun set.

"Wait, you lost your memory?" Lillith asked, eyes going wide.

"Sort of?" Flare said, rubbing the back of his head.

"What does sort of mean?" Lillith said, looking at Flare.

"I don't remember?" Flare half-replied, half-questioned.

"Oh, forget it." Lillith said.

"I did." Flare retorted, earning a snort of laughter.

"I hate you so much." Lillith said, glaring at Flare in mock annoyance.

Suddenly, Flare's scroll began to vibrate.

"I knew it."

* * *

"This is it." Blake said, as she stood outside an abandoned building, fingers tracing three scratch marks that marked the wall.

She and Sun peered around the corner, where a pair of horned Faunus were being escorted into the building by a bearded man.

"You sure?" Sun asked. Blake glared at him in response. "You know what I'm just gonna take your word for it."

Blake quickly took off her bow, revealing her cat ears, and stuffed the bow in her pocket, out of sight. The two walked up to the bearded man, who escorted them inside, to a hallway filled with cases.

"New recruits, keep to the right!" A masked faunus called out, as Blake and Sun followed behind the young couple that they had seen before.

The two were handed half-masks. Sun held his in front of him. "I don't get it. If you believe what you are doing is right, why hide who you are?"

"The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters." Blake answered, as she fixed the mask in place on her face.

"Grimm masks… That's kind of dark." Sun said.

"So was the guy who started it." Blake replied, as she walked on in.

"Always sunshine and rainbows with you…" Sun muttered, as he placed the mask on his face and followed Blake inside.

The two joined the other few White Fang recruits in front of the stage, a few dozen compared the the possibly hundreds of white-vested, black-hooded, masked faunus soldiers that lined the balconies and edges.

Blake and Sun looked around, suddenly feeling very anxious, when their attention was directed to the stage.

"Thank you for coming." The voice was deep and accented. The man who had spoken, stood up on the stage and had commanded a terrifying presence. He wore the standard White Fang uniform, albeit the sleeves removed, and his entire arms were covered in various tattoos. His mask was not standard either, and was a full face cover.

Blake gasped quietly as she noticed exactly who it was that was stood in front of her.

"For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours! I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for for so long!" The man, who Blake knew only as 'The Lieutenant', spoke, before he turned to face the person he was introducing.

There was an audible gasp from the audience, as Roman Torchwick stood into the light.

With a mocking wave, he addressed the angry crowd. "Thank you, thank you! Please hold your applause!"

"What's a _human_ doing here?!" Cried out a deer faunus, from in front of Blake and Sun.

"I'm glad you asked, _deerie_! Now, I'll be the first to admit, humans… are the worst. Case in point." He gestured to himself. "So, I understand why you would like to see us all locked away, or, better yet, killed!"

"Is he going somewhere with this?" Sun whispered to Blake, who shut him up with a quick glare.

"But, before the claws come out, I'd like to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy: the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms!" Roman cried out, splaying his arms wide. "Government, military, even the schools; they're all to blame for your lot in life!"

The crowd cheered, even as Blake and Sun exchanged a look.

"And they're the pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around… no offense to any rodents in the room." Roman said.

A snap of his fingers, and the massive white banner bearing the White Fang symbol, that hung behind the stage, fell, revealing what could only be summarised in one word, uttered by Sun.

"Shit."

Stood behind Roman Torchwick was a massive mech, a prototype Atlesian Paladin-290, with the White Fang symbol painted on the shoulder plate.

The reveal was accompanied by cheering from the Faunus.

"That's a big robot..." Sun said.

"How did he get that?" Blake asked.

"As some of you might have heard, this right here…" he patted the giant mech, "...is Atlas' newest defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my employer, we've managed to snag a few before they, uh, 'hit the shelves'. Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation down in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine… But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you. Any questions?" Roman said, to the roaring applause of the White Fang.

Blake turned to Sun. "We should get out of here."

This idea was interrupted by the White Fang Lieutenant. "Will all new recruits, please come forward!"

The crowd of new recruits surged forward.

"Welp!" Sun exclaimed. "What are we going to do?!"

"I'm thinking…" Blake replied.

Sun was watching Roman, and the small pink, white and brown-themed girl that stood next to him. Roman, smoking a cigar, zeroed in on the two.

"He sees us…" Sun began, before he smiled and waved at Roman.

"He can't see in the dark." Blake replied, as she leveled Gambol Shroud at the junction box that sat on the far wall, the staccato of a bullet being fired joining the static-esq sound as the power to the room was suddenly shorted, the lights shutting off and throwing the room into pitch-black darkness.

"Don't let them get away!" Roman shouted, from somewhere to the left.

"Sun! The window!" Blake called out, slightly to the right.

"Stop them!" Roman shouted again, from the far left now.

The telltale shattering of glass was followed by the sudden appearance of Blake and Sun leaping out the window, before they landed on an opposing rooftop, breaking out into a headlong sprint to get as far away as possible.

The telltale sound of a massive explosion signalled that the two faunus were being followed. A glimpse back showed a very big mech chasing them down.

"So, you wouldn't happen to have… oh, I don't know… some form of _backup_!?" Sun cried out, as he flipped over a drop into an alley.

"On it!"

* * *

Weiss was leaving the CCT elevator when her scroll rang. She quickly answered.

"Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back-" Blake began, only to be interrupted by Sun.

"HEEEELLLLP!" Sun screamed.

Weiss rolled her eyes, and quickly began running out of the CCT, a small smile on her face.

* * *

"Big robot! And it's big! Really big!" Sun cried out.

"Oh, I am not missing this!" Ruby said excitedly, as she began to run off.

* * *

"That Torchwick guy is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him; he's, like, controlling it or something!" Sun called out.

"Where are you guys?" Yang asked, as she sat on Bumblebee, Neptune sitting behind her.

The moment she finished asking the question, she could hear mechanical stomping and shouting from behind her.

"HURRY!" Sun shouted, from both her scroll and on the intersection behind her.

"I think that was them." Neptune said.

"Yeah, I got it!" Yang exclaimed, as she throttled the motorbike, doing a quick pivot as she accelerated, much to Neptune's alarm, and quickly drove after them.

* * *

"How do we catch up to them?" Lillith asked, as she and Flare ran through the square towards the road.

"Easy. Hop on." Flare replied, as he rounded the corner. He was glad for Vier, and his ability to summon his sparrow, the Ravensteel, anywhere he needed it, within reason.

Flare mounted the sparrow, and Lillith clambered on behind him. The sparrow quickly began to hover, and Flare accelerated far past the legal limit, and soon he and Lillith were flying along.

* * *

Due to the sheer inaccuracies of Vale's suburban planning commission, Blake and Sun had somehow ended up on a highway.

Of course, they were hunters-in-training, so it wasn't as if this was necessarily a problem for them. The two leapt across the tops of cars, continuing their escape, as the Paladin, piloted by Torchwick, pursued them, the massive mech pushing it's way through the oncoming traffic, smashing through cars.

Behind the mech was Yang and Neptune, following along at speed.

"We've gotta slow it down!" Yang shouted out.

"Got it!" Neptune replied, as he reached for his weapon from his shoulder.

Neptune, unfortunately, never managed to grab it as Roman noticed the approaching threat from the rear, and decided to use the traffic as a makeshift weapon.

With a slam, the mech crashed through a series of cars, sending the vehicles flying towards Yang and Neptune.

"Hold on!" Yang cried out.

"Wuh-oh..." Was all Neptune managed to get out as Yang quickly began swerving in and out of the way of the approaching vehicular projectiles.

Neptune, with both hands off the bike, began to precariously flail around, and it was only through sheer luck that he managed to remain seated.

Now clear of the mech's improvised traffic assault, Neptune raised himself up on the rear of the bike, and successfully drew his weapon.

What looked like a standard rifle, albeit the blue glow, soon was revealed to not be a standard rifle at all.

A squeeze of the trigger sent a burst of three blue glowing projectiles, electrified plasma, down range towards the hulking mech.

All the rounds were solid hits, and Roman grimaced from inside the robot, as the damage caused his holographic screens to flicker.

Sun and Blake paused their retreat to look back at Neptune, who decided to change up his strategy. With a twirl of the rifle, and a discreet press of a button, transforming the rifle into a polearm. The blade at the end, once the weapon had transformed, charged blue.

With a leap, Neptune jumped off of Bumblebee, and a second mid-air twirl had the blade split into three, revealing the weapon to be a trident. He thrust forward, and the triplicate blades impacted with the back plating of the Paladin, discharging energy into the mech.

"Neptune, hang on!" Sun called out, before he closed his eyes, smashing his palms together. Golden Aura pooled around him, and quickly coalesced into two semi-transparent golden copies of Sun, who leapt off the car that Sun was stood upon.

The two clones collided with the mech, exploding into blinding gold light, before Sun drew Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang and leapt.

He would never get the opportunity to hit the mech, as it was finally time for the mech to twist, flinging Neptune into Sun as he leapt, sending both flying off the edge of the suspended highway.

Blake, who watched the entire catastrophe, heard a voice from her scroll.

"Blake! I'm in position!" Weiss said through Blake's scroll, and Blake gave a small smirk.

Turning to face the other direction, Blake watched as Weiss backflipped off of a higher highway, landing between two lanes, where she quickly plunged Myrtenaster into the ground, a circle of ice coating the ground around her.

Where Roman had previously been smirking as he approached the white-haired heiress, he was now gritting his teeth as the Paladin lost footing, momentum carrying it over the head of Weiss and through the holographic wall of the highway onto the ground below.

Of course, Ruby was waiting for this, and she stood, sniper-scythe at the ready.

The Paladin stood up slowly, and Ruby was joined by the remaining members of Team RWBY, all of which took up positions next to their leader.

Roman grinned, as he stared at the four huntresses-in-training, and began moving the mech towards them.

"Freezer Burn!" Ruby called out, before she and Blake leaped backwards, as Weiss slammed the blade of her rapier into the ground, once again consuming dust to create a massive patch of ice. What was different this time was when Weiss too leapt backwards, and Yang, airborne, slammed into the ground Ember Celica first, the heat from her fire dust instantly melting the ice.

A makeshift smokescreen, or in this case a mist-screen, was created.

Roman quickly activated the Paladin's sensors, and numerous lasers quickly fired up, scanning about to cover it's blindspots, which, whilst in all the mist, were all it's spots.

The lasers, however, were not even close to being infallible, as they missed the afterimage of Blake, and could barely keep up with tracking Yang. Between the two came the sound of a gunshot, and through the mist came Ruby, scythe extended in a heavy sweep, connecting with the metal of the Paladin, causing it to falter.

"Checkmate!" Ruby called out again.

Blake and Weiss charged in, both girls slashing at the feet of the mech, before Weiss used a glyph to propel herself upwards, stabbing into one of the sensors. Roman quickly lifted the foot of the mech to crush Blake, but she was saved by the glyph that was summoned beneath her, launching her backwards out of the way of the crushing metal foot.

Roman, angry that the attack had missed, quickly opened fire with the shoulder-mounted missile racks, the hatches opening and the micro-missiles flying out towards Blake and Weiss.

The two quickly began backflipping away from the explosive impacts, before Roman smiled, stepping the mech back and firing a quick two-shot burst from the Paladin's arm-cannons.

The first shot missed, but the second hit Weiss, sending her flying backwards, but even flipping through the air Weiss cast a glyph, a golden tendril of aura flying through the air towards Blake. It impacted near Blake's feet, and suddenly there was a glyph, different to Weiss' normal glyphs.

It looked almost clock-like, and was bright gold. One of the more Aura-consuming glyphs in Weiss' arsenal, the time-dilation glyph did exactly as it said on the tin.

A second volley of micro-missiles was fired at Blake, but she gritted her teeth and started swinging Gambol Shroud, concentrating her Aura into each stroke, sending crescents of concentrated Aura towards each missile. She moved fast, almost faster than would be physically possible, and soon the missiles were cut down in front of her, the ruined shells of the explosives impacting around her.

Ruby joined the fray with her Faunus teammate. "Ladybug!"

The two quickly used their enhanced maneuverability to slice at the legs of the mech, each landing a strike then doubling back, creating a loop of strikes, before they both leaped into the air, swinging together at the left arm of the mech.

Their blades hit, bit through thick steel, and exited the other side, separating the left arm of the mech from the rest of the massive robot.

Yang, feeling left out, quickly joined in, leaping atop the Paladin's back and pounding the robot with fire-dust-laden explosive buckshot assisted punches.

The sheer force of the impacts caused the interior of the mech to be lit orange with warnings, and cause Roman to be flung around in the control seat. Angry that he was being man, or in this case, woman-handled, he urged the mech to leap backwards, slamming through a concrete pillar, and slamming Yang into a second one, which cracked the pillar and left Yang partially stuck in it.

With a turn, the mech's remaining arm switched from gun to fist, and Yang was punched clean through the pillar.

"Yang!" Blake called, worried.

"Don't worry! With each hit, she gets stronger, and she uses that energy to fight back! That's what makes her special." Ruby explained to Blake, as she stood next to her.

Yang stood back up to glare menacingly at the hulking mech that walked slowly towards her, her eyes glowing a deep red and her hair aglow with golden flames.

Roman, thinking he had victory only moments away, threw a punch, the mech's fist arcing towards Yang.

Yang caught it without any trouble, and the ground around her cracked as the fist impacted. Eyes red with rage, Yang threw her own punch, smashing the robot's remaining arm into shards of metal.

Roman, now desperate and equipped with an armless robot, threw a kick, the robot's leg catching Yang in the side, sending her flying towards her team.

"Bumblebee!" Ruby shouted, as Yang flew between herself and Blake.

Blake quickly responded, flinging Gambol Shroud out, ribbon extending as Yang caught it. With a pull, the ribbon went taut, and Yang quickly maintained the kick's momentum, running as Blake twisted, sending Yang flying back towards Roman inside the Paladin.

Even as Yang flew, she fired Ember Celica behind her, the recoil adding momentum.

The spin came around, and Roman quickly jumped backwards, the attack just missing.

"We have to slow it down!" Ruby cried out.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Weiss asked, as she closed the distance between her partner.

"Ice Flower!" Ruby answered, as she impacted the blade of Crescent Rose into the ground, whilst Weiss created a glyph in front of the barrel. Ruby pulled the trigger, and the fifty caliber bullet exited the chamber, flew through the glyph, became imbued with ice Dust, and impacted with Roman, causing a bloom of icicles that partially enveloped the mech. A second shot, followed by a few more hit the mech, freezing it in place.

Blake quickly followed this up by twirling her partner around, Yang trailing golden fire as she orbited her partner, before impacting with Roman, who had been attempting to shut off the beeping alarms inside the cockpit.

Yang's fist impacted with the front of the mech, and the steel gave way, the entire mech being sent flying to bounce across the ground, where it effectively came apart at the seams, splintering into scrap metal.

Roman, ever the distinguished gentleman, managed to successfully roll to his feet, even amongst the shrapnel. "Just got this thing cleaned." He complained, as he brushed dirt and loose metal off of his white jacket.

Yang, furious, quickly fired a slug towards Roman, who watched as it headed straight for his face.

It never made it, as the small girl that Blake and Sun had seen earlier landed in front of Roman, parasol extended, and the slug impacted with the intricate white, pink and brown lace, splashing fire outwards.

"Ladies. Ice Queen-" He began, only to be interrupted by a quick "Hey!" from Weiss. "Always a pleasure. Neo, if you would finish them off please."

The girl, Neo, took a quick bow, and waited patiently.

Yang was not patient. With a loud war-cry, Yang charged in, a wide haymaker swinging towards the small girl.

Neo quickly dropped her parasol down into a guard, and Yang's punch impacted with it, shattering both her and Roman into thousands of shards of glass.

Yang, along with the rest of Team RWBY, quickly looked around, and noticed the rapidly retreating bullhead, Roman confidently stood inside.

There was no Neo, however, but that would not last long.

The faint whisper of metal on metal was heard behind Ruby, as Neo appeared, the handle of her parasol drawn, a long thin stiletto blade drawn, poised to stab Ruby through the back.

She never managed to plunge it in, as a high-caliber sniper bullet impacted with her torso, sending her stumbling backwards.

All of Team RWBY turned in surprise, leaping away from Neo as she stared at them.

The suddenness of the sniper shot had surprised them all, but even more surprising was the approach that the sniper had decided to use.

"I STILL DON'T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE THIS THING!" Came a scream from the distance, as Flare and Lillith approached, Lillith driving the sparrow.

Flare was standing perfectly balanced on the back of the sparrow, even as Lillith flailed with the controls, the Ravensteel tilting as she leaned side to side trying to maintain her balance.

"Lillith, brakes." Flare said calmly, as she hit them with all the force she could muster. The sparrow slowed down almost instantly, and Flare was flung forward off the back, where he flipped end over end, before landing between Team RWBY and Neo.

Neo narrowed her eyes at the new threat. She wasn't stupid, she could tell that he was a threat. One that she could take care of, maybe. But six hunters-in-training? That was asking a bit much.

But well, she had orders. Even if she only managed to kill one of them… well.

That would be the sweetest of desserts.

She grinned.

* * *

 **Well, that was long. Hope you don't mind.**

 **Now, for what I was going to say about Destiny 2.**

 **It's fun. It's hella fun, actually, even if the grind is still real.**

 **Now, the most important part of this is that I bought the game on PC, and I have made a clan for PC.**

 **This clan is for you guys, if you want to join.**

 **It's called Guardians of a New Light, after this story, and hey, you don't have anyone to play it with, come and join us!**

 **www bungie net en ClanV2 Index?groupId=2834410**

 **Replace any spaces with slashes, except between the www and bungie, and between the bungie and net**

 **Please, join me and get me those sweet raid rewards... I mean come and join me for completely selfless reasons.**

 **And, as always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	15. Chapter 15: Dessert

**A/N: Hey all, AFatFlyingWhale here! Sorry if the chapter was a little late, a few things came up, but I should be back to writing now.**

 **If you didn't see, FUCK THE POLL. I wrote it when I was 36 hours without sleep, it didn't make sense, and I figured it didn't matter. No polls, because fuck it, I kinda like what I have planned. That doesn't mean you can't leave reviews suggesting things, however, I always appreciate them.**

 **Destiny 2 is still fun, and this story is going somewhere now. No I won't be including D2 campaign elements, but I might be including some weapons from it, so look forward to it, especially Sunshot, because holy crap that hand cannon is amazing.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the chapter, but be warned, this chapter is a little more deserving of the M rating than some of my others.**

* * *

Why the hell was did he have to get involved with this in the first place.

It had to be him. It couldn't be a prepared fireteam, or even a senior Guardian.

Nope.

It was Flare. The youngest of the Guardians, god-killer, one-man-fireteam and all around death dealer.

At least, that was what the called him. At the moment that was the last thing he was, because this short ice-cream themed sadistic girl was kicking the ever-loving crap out of him.

"You can help me out you kno-" Flare shouted out before being interrupted by the short girl slipping past his guard and kicking him in the stomach.

His shout for assistance shook the girls of RWBY, plus Lillith, out of their stupor, and they quickly engaged, opening fire in their variously unique ways whenever the opportunity presented itself, which was becoming more and more prevalent as Flare lost significant ground against the much more adept, flexible fighter.

Flare was used to fighting rigid enemies primarily, but that wasn't to say he wasn't effective against fast moving ones.

This girl was something else entirely. He had never seen anyone fight so much like fluid, and he had never seen an enemy with such a confident grin, outside of sparring.

It had thrown him off of his game entirely.

Sure, the Fallen could move fast given reason, and the Vex liked to teleport quite liberally, but this was…

Different. That was the only word he could use to describe what it felt like to face her.

Even with Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang and Lillith supporting him with sporadic bursts of gunfire and the occasional glyph, it almost seemed like she was able to dodge it without so much as a thought.

Even now she ducked beneath a knife slash, following it up with a combined backflip-kick, which Flare barely managed to sway to the side of.

The backflip was smart, as it brought her out of the range of Flare's swings, but he wasn't a fool. He spun the knife in his hand, throwing it at the girl.

She ducked backwards, eyes focused on the knife, and Flare moved, sprinting in with another knife drawn in his right hand.

The girl noticed him, almost too late to react, but Ruby backed Flare up, Crescent Rose bucking as a high-caliber sniper round echoed out the chamber, forcing the girl to spin to the side, and Flare took advantage of the situation, sprinting in and slashing with his blade.

The girl threw up her estoc, and Flare's knife collided, the clanging of metal on metal ringing out. Flare strained against the small girl, and she grinned.

Flare decided that he wanted to wipe that smile off of her face, and he swung a punch with his left. She ducked back, and threw her leg up to strike Flare's follow-through, knocking the knife out of his hand.

Flare wasn't dissuaded, and he drew a third knife from within the folds of his cloak, withdrawing the blade from its sheath on his back.

This time it was time for a new strategy. He couldn't exactly spell it out to his impromptu teammates, but he could hope they would pick up on it.

He skirted to the left, and re-engaged, striking out with the knife. The girl blocked again, before looping her leg around his arm with insane speed and flexibility.

Flare was hoping she would pull him in for a rapid flurry of attacks, and his hopes were confirmed as she did just that, using his arm as a balancing point to kick at his helmeted head with her other leg.

Flare reached out with his left arm and grabbed her other leg as she kicked, and the metal of the prosthetic appeared to surprise the girl.

She reacted as if she had kicked a steel girder, and she flinched, almost imperceptibly.

Now was the time to enact his plan, and Flare blinked upwards, still holding onto the girl's leg. She blinked in surprise as Flare and she were suddenly fifteen feet in the air, and Flare rotated his body so that she was positioned below her.

Gravity kicked in, and Flare and the girl plunged downwards towards the concrete.

She released the grip of her leg around his left, and began to strike at his head, her heeled boot colliding with his armoured head as the two fell.

It did nothing to release the firm grip of the guardian, who simply took the blows in stride, his newfound aura flaring in response to the blows.

The ground rushed closer and closer each moment, but Flare noticed that the one person he needed to had followed through exactly with what he had hoped.

Lillith stood beneath the falling fighters, her half-chakrams ready.

The girl hadn't noticed, still trying to release his grip, and Flare grinned beneath his helmet. He twisted his body, and the two began spinning as they fell, before Flare released his grip, flinging the small girl down towards the ground.

Lillith took a step back, and braced, as the girl rocketed towards the floor.

She never hit, at least not where the girl had been expecting to. Lillith stepped in with a two-handed strike in the side, sending the girl tumbling sideways at speed.

She managed to somewhat land it, using her momentum to flip backwards, slowing down each time a heeled boot or gloved hand touched the ground.

She wasn't down, but she was injured, her aura diminished significantly, as she clutched her side.

Of course, she still wasn't out of range.

She spun on her heel as she sensed the approaching danger, and barely managed to sway out of the way of a red-eyed Yang, as she swung a wild haymaker.

Blake followed up her partner, swinging Gambol Shroud in an attempt to hit the girl, but she flipped backwards, and Blake's swing missed.

Weiss followed Blake, charging forward in an attempt to spear the girl, assisted by a glyph, and the girl used her estoc to redirect the blow.

Ruby followed her partner with a massive horizontal cleaving swing, to which the girl deftly flipped over the top of.

She leaped backwards to get space from Team RWBY, and turned to duck Lillith's swing, kicking the purple-haired girl in the abdomen, making Lillith stumble backwards.

The last person to attack in turn was Flare.

She turned to face where he was sprinting in. He reached over his back, and Infinite Solution responded, the rear of the gun opening to reveal a handle.

He gripped it with a hand, and drew, the blade of Minimal Effort forming as he withdrew it from Infinite Solution.

The girl's eyes widened as the massive longsword glowed red, and Flare charged in, a sweeping blow being blocked by her estoc.

The two locked eyes for a moment, although the girl couldn't see Flare's, before she flipped backwards.

Flare made no move to get closer, instead just cocking his head at her and flipping the sword into a reverse grip.

Neo knew she couldn't win this fight. They were exceptionally skilled for huntsmen-in-training, and she was outmatched.

Roman would forgive her.

She stepped back, and Flare charged in with a heavy strike, the blade arcing towards Neo.

She did nothing to block the attack, and the blade bit deep into her, before she shattered into millions of shards of glass.

"Damn it!" Flare cursed, looking around. The girls did the same, wary of a surprise attack, but it appeared to not be coming.

A minute of wariness and caution passed before Flare resheathed Minimal Effort into Infinite Solution, the weapon opening to accept the blade.

"So, I guess he got a new henchman..." Yang began, trailing off as she returned Ember Celica to it's bracelet forms.

"Yeah, I guess she really made our plans… fall apart!" Weiss said.

The four other girls and Flare stared at Weiss, who was smiling. Ruby and Lillith began giggling, and Blake just shook her head, as she began walking off.

"No. Just… no." Yang deadpanned, expressionless.

"What? But you do it!" Weiss exclaimed.

"There's a time and place for jokes." Yang said.

"Was this not it?" Weiss asked.

"No, it just wasn't very good." Yang replied, as she followed after her partner.

"Well, at least I'm trying!" Weiss shouted at the retreating figure of Yang.

"Wait, where are Sun and Neptune?" Ruby asked, finally noticing the missing pair.

Flare just shook his head and sighed.

He was right, after all. It was a long night.

* * *

The trip back to Beacon was one of lingering failure and the dropping of endorphins.

The fight had caused the normally stable levels of adrenaline in the huntsmen-in-training to surge more so than a usual Grimm fight, and combining that with the fact that they had failed to apprehend a single person, the atmosphere wasn't great.

They had picked up Sun and Neptune from a nearby noodle stand, where they had decided that their help wasn't needed and chosen to instead snack away at some food.

Flare was the only one angry at this, even Weiss had waved it away as if it were nothing to be concerned about, but any one of them could have died, and the two had taken their responsibility and thrown it away for a bowl of noodles.

Regardless of how many times Sun and Neptune tried to convince him they were good noodles.

"You abandoned your friends for some tasty food? You think that little of them?" Flare had exclaimed, thoroughly pissed off.

"They weren't in danger, so it was fine!" Sun had gotten heated, and not even Blake could stop him from retorting.

"Bullshit. If it weren't for Lillith and I, Ruby would've been stabbed through the spine, most likely killed. You can't shield yourself with aura when you don't know there is an attack!" Flare responded with equal amounts of heat.

Every single first year in the bullhead blanched at the thought of that. Sun wasn't going to back down, however.

"How do you know that for sure!" Sun exclaimed.

Lillith's eyes widened as Flare disappeared from view, reappearing behind Sun, knife drawn, blood on the blade.

Sun cried out in surprise and shock, and stumbled away towards the shocked faces of Team RWBY, Lillith, and his partner. He glanced at his arm, and noticed the small nick in his skin, leaking droplets of blood. The moment he noticed his aura engaged, and the cut sealed over, already healed.

"You have already been trained to subconsciously engage your aura when you feel injury, but that doesn't stop a lethal strike from succeeding." Flare said, voice low.

"You very well could have _all_ died tonight, and you are significantly lucky that Lillith and I were here. Do you know what could've happened if it wasn't just that girl?" Flare continued, voice rising.

"Neo." Blake murmured under her breath.

Flare rounded on the raven-haired faunus. "Not important right now, Blake. Later, but now is _not_ the time!"

Blake stood up. "You can't just talk to us like this!" She shouted back.

"Bullshit I can't! What if it was the people that caught us on our mission! The ones that _tortured_ me! The ones that bested not only me but my entire team! What then? You six versus a team of professional huntsmen, who are more than capable of capturing us without me so much as _remembering them!_ " Flare shouted at all of them, looking around.

Lillith stood up and placed a hand on Flare's shoulder, pushing him gently down into his seat. "What Flare is trying to say is that it could've been much worse for all of you. Honestly, I agree completely with what he is saying, even if I don't agree with the delivery." She glared pointedly at her partner. "That goes especially for what is effectively abandoning your allies."

Sun and Neptune didn't look her in the eyes, the two staring at the ground.

Team RWBY wasn't to be dissuaded as easily.

"So, what? We let Torchwick and the White Fang roam around doing whatever they want?" Blake asked angrily.

"No."

The response made every single person in the bullhead stare.

Flare continued. "You don't charge in stupidly, you don't risk your lives, you don't make reckless decisions. You play it smart, smarter than your enemies. That's the only way this will work. Our advantage is access to resources that our enemy doesn't have access to. Ozpin, Beacon, even the General. We use our allies to take down our enemies, collecting all the information we can to use against them."

They all continued to stare.

"We don't make direct strikes unless we have to. We can't think like Huntsmen, we have to think like criminals. What's their motive, their agenda, what do they want?" Flare asked.

Blake was the one who took up the mantle of responding. "The White Fang want equality."

Flare shook his head. "No, they _used to_. Now, they are working with a human, Torchwick, and are collecting mass amounts of dust. They are terrorists, no doubt. What do terrorists do?"

Ruby responded. "Create terror." She half-whispered.

Blake turned to her leader to correct her, but never got the chance.

"Exactly. Terrorists sow terror, it's in the name. What happens when mass terror occurs?" Flare asked.

"Grimm." The one word was uttered, and the group paled as Weiss said it.

"Got it. What happens when a mass force of Grimm invade?" Flare asked, putting the pieces together in his head.

"Panic. Death. More Grimm." Yang said, paling.

"More Grimm brings more panic and death, bringing more Grimm. A vicious cycle that would inevitably result in the collapse of Vale. Who benefits from that, on a global scale?" Flare asked.

No one answered, so Flare took it upon himself to lay out his thoughts.

"The way I see it, very few. I have a few theories. Mistral, Vacuo or Atlas all could potentially benefit from the collapse of Vale, either from swooping in as a rescuing force or as an invading force. It depends on how they would want to handle it. That's one theory." Flare explained.

The rest of the group looked on in varying states of shock.

"Atlas would never do such a thing!" Weiss exclaimed, once she shook her head free of her thoughts.

"Right, because the heir to the SDC is privy to secret political plans of her home kingdom." Flare retorted, and Weiss bit her lip, grimacing.

"Look, that's just one potential. There are others. Namely, some external force who profits, or at least gains something from the collapse. Or, hell, it could be an internal job done by anarchists. It's difficult to tell." Flare continued.

"One thing I know, is that I don't think this is organised by the White Fang. Someone has convinced their leaders to work with them, or even for them. For the White Fang, this is most likely a massive publicity stunt. They have attention on them more now than ever before, and regardless of opinions, you can't ignore that." Flare said, and Blake nodded, lost in thought.

"So, what do _we_ do?" Yang asked.

"Do our best to gather information, and _not_ get directly involved. It wouldn't do to paint a target on our backs, especially if we want to work in the dark. These kinds of people make mistakes when they get overconfident, and that only happens when everything goes smoothly. Keep interrupting, and you end up making them overly cautious, making it all the more harder to prevent anything that needs to be prevented urgently. Stopping a few dust robberies could lead to us being unable to prevent the detonation of a mass dust bomb, even if stopping the robberies made it take a day longer to detonate. We need to pick and choose where we intervene, and leave the minimal stuff to the police." Flare explained in detail, and their faces proceeded from anger to shock to mild understanding, ending at regret.

"I know it sucks. I want to help everyone else too, but if we have to let one person die to save a thousand, I know what decision I will make." He ended his explanation there, leaning back in his seat.

He could recognize deep thought and moral dilemmas passing on their expressions, but he kept silent. He couldn't force them to understand, only hope that they could come to the same understanding as him.

A few more minutes passed, before they felt the bullhead touch down, the door sliding open.

Flare stayed seated as Team RWBY, Sun and Neptune all clambered off, heading for their dorms, bent on sleeping.

Lillith stood up and grabbed Flare by the arm, and she escorted him off the bullhead and away from the rest.

"Flare, I get it, but did you have to be so harsh?" She asked.

He sighed. "Life is harsh, Lillith. Best they know now, when they can still prepare."

Lillith released the grip on his arm, but didn't make any move to leave.

"C'mon, Lillith. Let's get back to our dorm. We could do with some sleep." Flare said, as he began to walk away.

He felt a light tug at his cloak.

"I know it's harsh, Flare. Trust me." She said under her breath.

Flare turned to her, noticing how her shoulders slumped, how her head was down.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and slowly walked towards the dorm.

The night wasn't over just yet.

* * *

"Roman, you understand that I'm rather disappointed with you, do you not?"

Roman could only nod his head, as doing anything more would result in him being roasted alive.

"I'm glad you understand me so well, Roman. Tonight's… failure… regardless of cause, is a testament to your inability. I will make an exception, because even Neo here couldn't defeat them, so I can understand that it might have been asking a bit much of a thief, but still…"

Her voice trailed off, but the implications were nothing if not effective. Roman twitched, and Neo's eyes widened.

The needle that jutted out of his chest was enough to make him cry out in pain, and Neo quickly strained against the person that had suddenly grabbed onto her.

Neither had seen where the four figures had approached from, nor had either noticed them until their presence was made known.

"We can take it from here, Cinder. If you would allow us to do your dirty work." The man said, as he withdrew his needle from Roman's chest.

"No thank you, Onyx, that won't be necessary. I believe Roman has already learnt his lesson, haven't you?" Cinder asked, injecting a level of sensuality into her voice.

"Of course, Cinder." The helmeted man nodded, stowing the needle blade in its sheath.

"But the girl. She requires punishment, but nothing like your usual form. She'd enjoy it too much, I'm afraid. Cinder said.

"Ah. If that's the case… Haunt?" The masked man turned and asked, a smaller woman stepping out of the shadows.

She, like the man, was masked, but she didn't speak, much like Neo herself.

She walked over to Neo, and the man standing holding the ice-cream themed girl forced her into a chair, strapping her in. The man who was holding her walked over to Roman and grabbed him in his solid grip.

The woman, Haunt, drew a knife from within the depths of her trenchcoat, and the blade glowed blue, crackling electricity.

She stepped close to Neo, her mask almost touching Neo's face, and pulled up Neo's top, exposing bare midriff.

Haunt lay the flat of the blade against Neo's stomach, and Neo began spasming, crying out silently as the electricity surged throughout her body.

Haunt withdrew the flat of the blade. Neo panted silently, folded over, head resting against Haunt's mask. Haunt didn't react to any of it, as if it simply wasn't happening.

Neo thought the worst was over, and then Haunt plunged the blade point first deep into the flesh on the side of Neo's midriff.

Neo screamed, the pain breaking her silence, as she squirmed and spasmed against the blade, only making the serrated edge grind more and more against her flesh.

Roman struggled against the vice-like grip that held him in place, but to no avail.

The entire dark warehouse was subjected to the wails of Neo, and the cries of Roman shouting 'stop!'

It seemed like an eternity to the ice-cream themed girl, but after only fifteen seconds, Onyx placed a hand on Haunt's shoulder.

"Enough."

That one word was uttered, and Haunt systematically removed the blade, the electricity sparking. She stepped backwards, and Neo's head lolled forwards, her tongue hanging out of her mouth, strings of saliva dripping out.

Haunt took a single second to stare at the unconscious girl she had just tortured, before she stepped out of the light.

The tall man that held Roman released his grip, and Roman stumbled forwards, grabbing at Neo, trying to see if she was still alive.

"Let that be a lesson, Roman. Failure is no longer an option." Cinder said, before she walked out of the room, flanked by the four masked figures.

Roman could do nothing but stare angrily at the doorframe where she had exited through.

Neo could do nothing but occasionally spasm.

* * *

"Mr Archid, do I need to know anything else about tonight?" Ozpin asked the no-longer helmeted figure of Flare as he stood in front of Ozpin's desk.

"I have provided the video footage of what I captured from the fight, and I don't have anything else to give. My apologies we couldn't detain either of them." Flare said.

"How do we know you aren't working with them?!" Ironwood, standing to the left of Ozpin, exclaimed angrily.

"Excuse me?" Flare asked.

"Last night, an Atlas blacksite was raided, and something incredibly precious and secret was stolen. You are the perpetrator." Ironwood accused, ire evident.

"I refute these claims, and will continue to do so until provided with undeniable evidence." Flare replied.

Ironwood just frowned, reaching for his weapon. "If that isn't an admission of guilt…"

"Gentlemen, please. General, I trust you do have evidence?" Ozpin asked, looking to his ally.

"Of course I do." Ironwood said, and he directed their attention the holographic video that was projected above Ozpin's desk.

"See here, you can clearly see Mr Archid entering the perimeter around the blacksite, before we lose all sight of him." Ironwood said, as the video played out.

The video was filmed from something small and airborne, and Flare marvelled at the fact that he had no idea it was even there.

"What you can see is a figure entering what you said was the perimeter of the blacksite. No confirmation it was me." Flare denied.

Ironwood scowled. "We had this drone following you specifically!"

"Bullshit you did. If it were, it would've seen me in Vale buying a new helmet!" Flare lied vehemently.

"Well, James, he is correct. There is no definitive proof that it was him. Mr Archid, if you have nothing further to say, you are dismissed." Ozpin said, and Flare nodded, leaving the office.

"Oz, you can't possibly believe that blatant lie!" Ironwood exclaimed, furious.

"I do not believe it, no. However, I do believe that whatever Mr Archid does, he does for the best of all of us. He has fought against threats we didn't even know existed, so I trust him more than most. You had best understand that, James. I would also suggest you give him what he wants. Mr Archid is capable enough to break into a non-existent Atlas blacksite, so I doubt he will have trouble getting a hold of it without your assistance." Ozpin said, sipping at his coffee.

"Oz, you know I trust your judgement, but are you sure about this?" Ironwood asked, most of his ire disappearing.

"Did Mr Archid injure anyone?" Ozpin asked.

"Besides knocking out a few scientists, including Doctor Polendina, battering a few guards and locking Specialist Schnee inside a vault, no." Ironwood admitted.

"Then we have no reason to get angry with him. Imagine his ability assisting you, instead of countering you." Ozpin said.

Ironwood nodded slowly, thinking about it. "I will consider it. Once I have, I'll notify you."

"Of course, James." Ozpin replied.

Sometimes it was too easy.

* * *

" _Sorry, Flare. Goodbye."_

Flare woke up with a start, looking around.

He was sweating heavily, and he could feel his right arm shaking. His left grasped it, and he stilled the torrent of emotions that ran through his body.

"You alright?"

The voice was unexpected, and he turned to see Tera's eyes, glowing gold in the darkness.

"I'm fine. Go back to sleep." Flare whispered back, and Tera did so, laying back into her bed.

Flare sat there for a few minutes, before he too lay back down.

Longing.

* * *

 **Well, that was a chapter. Things are getting more serious, and I'm looking forward to continuing this!**

 **If you guys like my writing style, check me out on the subreddit r/HFY. I have posted 4 chapters of a story up on there, called Rules To Be Broken. Check it out, if you like, and by the time this is posted I should have chapter 5 posted, it depends. It's original, so it doesn't feature any characters from other things, however, so if that isn't your thing, don't worry.**

 **Hey, I appreciate all your reviews, follows and favourites. 50 favs is a massive milestone, so thank you!**

 **And, as always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	16. Chapter 16: Digging

**A/N: Hey all, sorry about my disappearance, few things popped up and I had to deal with that.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter, as we move slowly but surely into volume 2 of RWBY.**

 **Volume 5 is going swimmingly, in my opinion, looking forward to the new episodes.**

* * *

"And that's the match." Professor Goodwitch said, as she walked across the sparring ground, tapping away at a scroll tablet.

"Lucky shot." Cardin groaned from the floor, as he attempted to stand back up. He didn't succeed, as he collapsed to the ground.

"Well done, Ms Nikos. You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament." Goodwitch said, ignoring Cardin as he groaned from the ground.

"Thank you, Professor." Pyrrha said, appreciating the compliment.

"Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match." Goodwitch looked around, eyeing the students that sat around the arena in the classrooms stands. "Ms Belladonna?"

Blake snapped up, slamming her book closed with a start.

"You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you-" Goodwitch began, before she was interrupted.

"I'll do it." The voice came from behind Blake, startling her.

"Mercury, is it? Very well, let's find you an opponent." The professor said, as she referenced her tablet.

"Actually, I wanna fight… her." Mercury said, pointing at Pyrrha.

"Me?" Pyrrha asked, confused.

"I'm afraid Ms Nikos has just finished the match. I recommend you chose another partner." Goodwitch said, frowning.

"No, it's fine! I'd be happy to oblige." Pyrrha said, interrupting the professor.

"Ms Nikos, I think you should reconsider. This isn't a competition, so you shouldn't feel the need to accept every challenge that comes your way, regardless of your position." Glynda said, frowning at the bronze warrior.

"Professor, how about a doubles match?" Someone called out, and Mercury smirked.

"I'm fine with that." Mercury said, looking around the room for his secondary opponent.

"Well, if that is acceptable with Ms Nikos and her partne-" Glynda began, only to be interrupted.

"Her and him." Mercury said, pointing at Pyrrha and a person on the other side of the classroom.

Glynda looked around to where Mercury was pointing.

"Me?" Flare asked, as the entire class stared at him.

"Do you have any objections, Mr Archid?" Glynda asked, quirking an eyebrow at the sight of the young guardian completely confused.

"Does he realise I'm a second year?" Flare asked, in response.

Glynda looked to see the response from Mercury.

She received a shrug.

She looked back at Flare.

"Well, if he's fine with it." Flare said, giving his own shrug.

Flare quickly stood up from his seat and leaped, doing a single flip, and landing in the sparring arena, helmet materialised and weapons ready, Infinite Solution set in the sword deployment mode.

Pyrrha looked nonplussed as she watched Flare's acrobatic display. Glynda merely raised an eyebrow.

Flare quickly walked over and joined Pyrrha, standing to her side as the silver-haired teen hopped the railing, landing on his feet. His partner, a green-haired teen, followed suit. They both equipped their weapons, and Flare noticed a few similarities to his friends. He leant over to Pyrrha.

"I'll take the green-haired one if you take the cocky one." Flare said under his breath, and Pyrrha gave a slight nod to show that she agreed.

The click of a shotgun being loaded drew their attention, as Mercury gave his greaves a quick check, making sure that they were in working order. His partner did the same with her weapons, checking the revolvers to make sure they would work in the coming battle.

Pyrrha quickly drew Miló and Akoúo̱, readying herself into a combat stance. Flare brushed his cloak to the side to allow for his arm to reach up to the handle of Minimal Effort, where it was still merged with Infinite Solution.

"Pyrrha Nikos and Flare Archid versus Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. Begin!" Glynda called, and the four shot into action.

Emerald quickly split off to the left, Mercury to the right, and Pyrrha and Flare did the same, each pushing in to take their opponent in melee.

Whilst Mercury and Pyrrha seemed to be more inclined to close-quarters combat, it seemed that Emerald, like Flare, preferred to keep a bit of distance from her enemy.

However, that wasn't what Flare was planning on doing today. He needed practice with a sword, and what better way than in a sparring match against an opponent that had specifically selected him, or at least the partner of the one who had.

Reaching over his shoulder, Flare gripped the handle of Minimal Effort, and with a rather overly dramatic reveal, slowly withdrew the blade from Infinite Solution, the blade glowing a menacing red.

Emerald responded to the unspoken threat by clicking a hidden button on her revolvers, blades springing out from below the barrels, turning the revolvers into sickles.

Flare smiled beneath his helmet. The amount of training he had done with Lillith, this would be a cakewalk.

Emerald quickly rushed in, body bent low, before she struck, her sickles clashing with Flare's blade as he blocked. Emerald wasn't willing to sit around and stare, however, as she quickly pulled back and leaped backwards.

Flare let her have the ground, using that time to plant Minimal Effort into the ground point-first, the concrete splitting open.

Infinite Solution was drawn off of his back, and it formed its shotgun form. Flare took the shotgun in his left, and withdrew his sword from the ground, holding it in his right.

Emerald stared at the form of Flare as he waited for her attack, sword and shotgun held at the ready.

She pressed in, sprinting towards the waiting figure of Flare.

The two heard a conversation, and gasping from the audience, but they paid it no mind as they engaged in combat, Emerald slashing out with her sickles in an attempt to push Flare back.

Flare met the sickles with his sword, the blade clashing with the green metal of her weapons as he stepped forward and blocked the attack.

His shotgun aimed at the girl, and he pulled the trigger, but she spun out of the way, lashing out with another strike.

This time Flare stepped back, swaying out of the way of the blades, but he was caught off guard as a click sounded, the blades of her sickles springing off the handles, attached to chains.

The chains almost wrapped around him, but he threw up his right arm, the chain wrapping around it.

His sword hit the floor as Emerald tightened the chains, and Flare struggled against the weapon.

Emerald stumbled off her feet as Flare suddenly tugged much harder, and Emerald's head thudded against the barrel of Flare's shotgun.

"I surrender!" Emerald cried out quickly, just before Flare clicked the trigger.

The chains dropped from his arm, and Flare quickly retrieved his sword, stowing the blade back inside the intricate workings of Infinite Solution, before slotting the weapon on his back.

"Good match." Flare said, as he walked away. He was disappointed, the match had been less than impressive.

He looked over to where Pyrrha was talking to her team, and he looked over to her opponent.

Mercury was stretched out, relaxing in his seat. Emerald was quickly making her way over to him, no doubt planning to do something similar.

Flare quickly scaled the stairs back to his seat, and Lillith raised a questioning eye at her still-helmeted leader.

"What was that all about?" His partner asked, raising an eyebrow.

Flare took his helmet off, placing it underneath his desk, and secretly dematerialising it.

"No idea. They both surrendered?" Flare asked, massaging his arm.

"Yeah. Don't know why, but at least the girl put up some kind of fight." Tera said, leaning over.

"What'd the guy do?" Flare asked.

"A few probing attacks, nothing serious, then he just surrendered. Odd." Lillith answered.

"Probably just overwhelmed by Pyrrha. Girl knows how to kick ass." Tera said.

"She is certainly skilled at fighting. A first year taking on a full team is impressive." Iren said, eyeing the champion.

"That's a four-time championship winner for you." Tera said, nudging her partner. "I'm starting to feel a little jealous."

Iren just chuckled in response.

"Hey, wait, you're supposed to resist that." Tera exclaimed, frowning.

Flare and Lillith looked at each other as Tera began berating Iren, who just chuckled.

"Team FLIT! Please, pay attention. There is only a few minutes left of class, so concentrate." Glynda interrupted, glaring at the four.

"Yes ma'am, sorry." Flare apologised, smacking Tera on the leg.

The last few minutes of the lesson were occupied by thoughts that didn't concern the actual contents of the lesson whatsoever, and Flare was nervous.

It still didn't sit right with him, the way the two fought. Why did they surrender when it looked as if they could still fight with ease?

It just didn't sit right with him. Maybe it was because they were from Haven, did they do things differently there?

"Flare, you good?"

Flare snapped his head around, noticing all the students standing up, packing their things.

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah. Just a little preoccupied, that's all." Flare replied, nodding to his partner.

"C'mon. Let's get back to the dorm." Lillith said.

"Actually, Ms Wrath, I've been asked to escort you and the rest of your team to Ozpin's office." Goodwitch interrupted.

Tera sighed, and Flare nodded.

Another mysterious meeting with the mysterious headmaster.

* * *

"Welcome, Team FLIT." Ozpin greeted, as Flare and his team made their way inside his office.

"Hello, Headmaster." Flare greeted back, his team nodding various greetings.

"Students, this is General Ironwood, the headmaster of Atlas Academy. He has something for you." Ozpin said, gesturing to the general.

Flare looked the general in the eye and gave him an almost imperceptible shake of the head, to which, to the credit of the general, he barely reacted to.

"Students, I have a mission, and Ozpin says that you are some of the most capable second years." Ironwood said.

"What is the mission, General?" Flare asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"We have lost contact with an Atlesian facility, being run in conjunction with Vale. I, along with Ozpin, would like you and your team to investigate what happened, and re-establish contact." Ironwood explained.

Flare turned to his team. "We taking this?"

He received a nod from Iren, a noncommittal shrug from Tera, and a smile from Lillith. He turned back to face the general and the headmaster.

"We'll take it. When do we leave?" Flare asked.

"As soon as possible. We wouldn't want you to miss out on the dance." Ozpin said, with a smirk.

"Alright." Flare said, as he turned to his team again. "You guys go pack, I'll get the rest of the details, and figure out a plan."

The three of them walked out of the office, and the door closed behind them.

"Alright, General. Explain. The facility?" Flare asked, his attitude changing dramatically. What had been polite but businesslike was now mildly disguised frustration and distrust.

"Look, Archid, I understand that we may have gotten off on the wrong foot, and this is the best way I can help to fix that." Ironwood said, and Flare quirked an eyebrow.

"The facility was home to a joint-research project, studying an ancient temple. Or, rather, studying how to _enter_ the ancient temple. We lost contact a week ago, and this is the third facility we've lost contact with in as many months." Ironwood explained, and Flare sighed.

"This wouldn't happen to be one of those Hive temples, would it?" Flare asked, sarcasm oozing.

"I'm afraid I have no way of confirming that, seeing as we never successfully made our way inside. You would have more experience with determining whether or not it was a Hive temple." Ironwood said.

"Alright, General. Anything else I need to know?" Flare asked.

"Nothing specific, as we don't have to many details ourselves. However, we will send you in with a detachment of AK-200s, so as you may-" Ironwood began.

Flare interrupted. "No thank you, General. No offense, but I don't trust those things, remind me too much of the Vex."

"Ah… well, if you feel as if that is the case, then that is fine. We have a Bullhead prepped for deployment wherever you feel like you want to land. It's waiting at landing pad three." Ironwood was caught off guard by Flare's sudden dismissal of Atlas's prized creations.

"Copy that, General. We'll go as soon as possible. Have a nice day, Ozpin, Ironwood." Flare said, as he left the room.

"I'm not sure I trust him, Oz." Ironwood said, once Flare had left the office.

"It isn't about trusting him, James. It's about trusting his ability." Ozpin replied sagely.

Ironwood just sighed. "If you're sure, Oz."

* * *

"So, we packed and ready?" Flare asked his team, who all stared at him in disbelief.

"It's been like two minutes, Flare. Chill out, and help." Tera said, staring daggers at him.

Flare laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Not my fault you need to pack everything you own."

Lillith slapped him on the arm at that comment, exclaiming "You _do_ pack everything you own!"

"So, Flare, anything important for us to know?" Iren asked.

"Besides the fact that I turned down babysitting duty for a bunch of Ironwood's robots, nothing too much outside of the briefing." Flare said, as he packed a bag full of Lillith's ammunition.

"You did what? Why?" Lillith asked, shocked.

"Don't trust him. Plus, I don't like the idea of having him watching us whilst we're helping him out. If it was a group of soldiers, then I'd be fine. Can't hack a soldier." Flare answered.

Tera quirked an eyebrow at him, and Lillith looked a little disappointed.

"C'mon, you really wanna be shown up by a bunch of tin cans?" Flare asked, as he placed the fully loaded ammo bag in front of him.

Iren chuckled at that, as Tera and Lillith frowned.

"You think I can't shred a robot?" Tera asked mock-angrily.

"Tera, I have no doubt you could shred a robot. It's a matter of diplomatically shredding a robot that I'm worried about." Flare said with a smirk.

"Yeah, maybe attacking Atlesian Military property isn't a great idea, Tera." Lillith said, as she slid her pistols into her hip holsters.

"Well, the theoretical scenario that was presented was that the robots had been hacked." Tera said, doing a shoddy impersonation of Lillith, as she slid her daggers into their sheaths.

"That was a terrible impersonation." Iren said, sheathing his greatsword over his shoulder.

Tera shouldered her quiver, and looked at Flare, who was tossing the ammo bag onto his arm.

"Lead the way, boss. And try not to get captured this time." Tera said, smirking.

"Yeah, yeah. C'mon." Flare responded, mock-glaring at Tera. "Landing pad three."

* * *

The team barely made it outside before they bumped into Teams JNPR and RWBY.

"Hey guys! Where you off to with all those packed bags?" Ruby asked, as she zoomed over to FLIT.

"Hey all. We got a mission." Flare replied.

"Well, good luck you guys." Jaune said, giving FLIT a wave. "We've gotta get to training, so we'll see you when you get back."

A chorus of goodbyes came from JNPR, varying in degrees of enthusiasm.

"Have fun guys! You'd better be back in time for the dance, Weiss and I are organizing." Yang said, as Weiss gave a small curtsy.

"Will do, good luck." Flare said, before being interrupted by Tera.

"Yang, you'd better make sure that there is good music. Whatever Ice Queen is planning, there's no doubt it'll be all posh." Tera said, receiving a glare from the white-haired heiress in question.

Yang laughed. "Yep!"

Weiss harrumphed.

"All right, let's get moving." Flare said, as he walked towards the landing pads, giving a quick wave over his shoulder. "Stay out of trouble!" He called out.

"We will!" Ruby called out, waving at the retreating figures of team FLIT.

FLIT approached the landing pad, where the Bullhead sat, engines warmed.

The members of FLIT climbed in, and Flare ducked his head into the cockpit, where a green-highlighted Atlesian soldier sat.

"Heading?" Flare asked, businesslike.

"Vale's border. East." The pilot replied.

Flare gave the wall of the cockpit a quick tap, and the pilot took off, the Bullhead doors sliding closed.

Flare turned to his team.

"Time to get underway."

* * *

The landing zone was an unassuming building of white, silver and steel, very Atlas in nature. It stuck out amongst the greenery of the forest, but there was no temple in sight.

Flare was currently hanging on the side of the Bullhead, the craft's doors open, the wind rushing past at speeds that not even Ruby could achieve.

His plan was rather simple, in both explanation and execution. It was the convincing of the rest of FLIT that was the difficult part.

He'd wanted to drop in alone, to clear a landing zone, but Lillith and Tera had vetoed that almost instantly, demanding that they all land at the same time.

Flare had disagreed, pointing out that the reason of dropping in was to eliminate any threats so that the Bullhead could land safely.

Iren had spoken up and suggested that he and Flare drop, and the girls provided ranged support from the air.

The girls really had no choice but to begrudgingly accept their partner's suggestions, and so resolved themselves to do as they had been asked, weapons held at the ready.

Iren joined Flare, hanging on the edge of the Bullhead. "Ready, Flare?" He asked.

"On my mark." Flare replied, steeling himself for a drop.

"Mark!" He called out, and the two jumped out, leaping into the open afternoon air.

Their momentum from the Bullhead carried them through the air, as gravity did what gravity does, pulling them towards the surface at a steady rate.

Flare initiated the thrusters in his boots, and saw Iren pool aura into his legs, glowing a deep, dark orange.

They hit the ground, Flare making considerably less of an impact than his male teammate, who flung up chunks of stone and dirt as he cratered, sword coming off his shoulder into a ready position.

Flare did the same, drawing his sword from inside Infinite Solution.

Nothing.

No growls, no shouts of surprise, fear, or any kind of exclamation.

What caught Flare off-guard was the sheer silence. It wasn't that there wasn't any hostiles, it was that there was no ambient sound either.

No birds chirping, no wind rustling leaves, no twigs snapping underfoot of startled wilderness creatures.

It felt unnatural.

Flare spoke into his communicator, speaking to the pilot of the Bullhead. "Bring her down on our position."

The Bullhead pilot did that, the engines encompassing the silent forest with noise. Lillith and Tera jumped out, dropping ten feet or so from the edge of the aircraft.

The pilot then did exactly as he had been ordered too, and pulled away, the sound of the Bullhead's engines drifting off as the aircraft flew into the distance.

"Facility is two klicks that way." Flare said, pointing. "Let's go."

Flare began walking towards the direction he had pointed, eyes warily scanning both the terrain and his motion sensor.

Nothing, again. Not even a flicker.

"Vier, something feels off. Any ideas?" Flare subvocalized, as he trudged through the forest.

"I'm as confused as you, Guardian." Vier replied, using the internal link.

The hike to the facility was boring to anyone who wasn't familiar with what it was like anywhere in Remnant.

For Team FLIT, who were all used to enemies being as commonly found as blades of grass, were all thrown off by two things.

The first being the sheer absence of _presence_ that they felt. It was as if the only living things in the forest were them, and the plants.

The second was an overwhelming feeling of dread. It permeated their minds, like some kind of psychic emotion-fog.

Even as Flare breached the treeline into the clearing that held the facility, closely followed by the rest of his team, he felt that feeling of dread.

"Stay sharp. Something is _very_ wrong." Flare whispered, as he dropped low, using the tall grass to partially mask his approach.

Lillith, Iren and Tera did the same, and the team slowly approached the concrete and steel structure that was the goal of their mission.

Flare spotted a door, and pressed himself up against the facility wall, sneaking slowly towards the entrance. The rest of FLIT did the same, slowly stalking towards the metal of the door.

Reaching the door, Flare quickly hit the release on the control panel, and the door slid open. Flare peeked inside, and blanched beneath his helmet.

Blood.

Everywhere.

It coated the walls, the floor, even the ceiling.

What was missing from the scene was the bodies that one would assume to have held all the blood.

Of course, Flare noticed that it was the main parts of the bodies were missing, as there were still small chunks of flesh lying in puddles of dried blood.

Flare heard retching behind him, and he turned to see both Lillith and Tera hunched over, with Iren wrinkling his face in disgust. Helmets did have benefits.

He was thankful that his team hadn't seen inside yet. "Guys. I don't think you should go in there."

Tera and Lillith looked up at him, eyes watering, saying nothing.

Iren frowned at Flare. "Regardless of what is inside, we have a job to do."

Flare just sighed, frowning underneath his helmet. "Vier, do we have any spare helmets? Any kind." Flare asked through the internal link.

"Besides the Atlesian soldier helmet, we have three rare helmet engrams spare." Vier replied.

Flare quickly ducked down and drew out the three engrams from his inventory, materialising each one in his hands, handing them to each of his teammates.

"Concentrate your Aura into it." Flare instructed to his stunned teammates.

They did so, all glowing various shades of purple, for Lillith, gold, for Tera, and dark orange, for Iren.

A triplicate of blinding flashes occurred, and as the three looked into their hands, what they expected was certainly not helmets.

"What the fuck!?" Tera exclaimed quietly, shock apparent on her face. Lillith mirrored her expression, although hers contained no small amount of curiosity. Even Iren had an expression of shock and amazement, although his was far more tempered than the girls.

"Put them on, and do not scream." Flare replied, only raising more questions.

They did so, donning the helmets. They activated, and Vier quickly interfaced with them, secretly monitoring their motion sensors, and connecting their comms.

"Follow." Flare said, into the comms. Three heads perked up at the sound of his voice, but they did as he ordered, sticking to his back as he sheathed Minimal Effort.

At this range, Flare decided on the shotgun form of Infinite Solution. He entered the building, stepping over the threshold.

He heard a gasp, a dampened shriek, and a sigh from behind him. He assumed it wasn't Iren who shrieked.

Flare steeled himself, and walked down the hallway, his three horrified teammates following behind him as he stepped into the dried blood, his boots leaving the slightest impression against the dirty crimson coating.

"It just keeps getting worse, doesn't it." Lillith muttered from underneath her new helmet. Flare didn't answer, and he rounded the corner.

Lillith was right. It did get worse, but not in the way anyone but Flare would expect.

The entire corridor was covered in a dark grey-green substance, solid to the touch.

Flare clenched his hands against the grip of Infinite Solution, frowning.

"Fuckers messing with things they couldn't fathom." Flare said to himself, and his teammates looked at him, curious.

They couldn't tell what the solidified sludge was, but Flare did, they could tell.

"Flare, what is this stuff?" Lillith asked.

His response only brought more intrigue, and worry. "Death."

Collectively, they jumped back, as a deafening scream echoed throughout the facility.

"What the fuck?" Tera cried out, her daggers up in a defensive position.

"Flare, mind telling us what is going on?" Lillith asked, staring at her partner.

Iren remained stoic and silent, even as he drew his blade, splitting it into the more close-quarters usable longswords.

Flare turned to his team, and made a decision.

"Look, we don't have the time for me to explain. I promise I'll explain everything after, as long as you promise that you'll follow my lead, and not freak out, regardless of what we go up against. Okay?" Flare asked, looking to his newly helmeted team.

Lillith nodded, and soon after Tera and Iren did too. They trusted their leader.

Flare just hoped he deserved that trust.

* * *

"Stick close." Flare said, the inbuilt helmet microphone picking up his whisper.

He didn't wait for an answer, as he walked deeper into the facility.

According to Vier, the facility was a series of laboratories, all interlinking into a main corridor, which lead to an elevator, which lead to an excavation site.

FLIT made slow progress, but they did make progress, stepping over lumps of green-grey sludge.

It was when they reached the elevator that things became more complicated.

"Flare, the elevator…" Lillith whispered, trailing off. Flare had noticed the problem with the elevator, or rather the lack of said elevator.

They had no way of telling how deep the shaft was, and repeated attempts to call the elevator had met with failure.

"We really only have one option, Flare." Iren said, and Flare sighed, really not willing to jump into the darkness.

"I suppose so. Can we all stick the landing?" Flare asked, looking to the rest of his team.

He received a trio of nods.

Another sigh escaped his lips, and he shrugged. "Fair enough."

He jumped, plummeting into the pitch black shaft. His team followed, willing their aura into their legs, preparing for a jarring landing.

The impact was, as expected, hard.

The slamming of four plummeting hunters-in-training left a rather large crater in the roof of the elevator, but did not penetrate the solid steel that formed the actual elevator.

The smell of death hadn't left, but another had taken precedence, the smell of sickly sweet decay filling the area. It permeated their helmets, and even Flare fought back the urge to retch.

With a quick semblance use from Iren, the steel hatch quickly disintegrated, and the four dropped into the elevator, Flare leading the way.

The moment he dropped in, he landed with a squelch. He looked down, and saw his foot had penetrated the chest cavity of a dead scientist, wearing the lab coat of an Atlesian, one that Flare recognized.

He winced as he lifted his foot out of the corpse, giving it a shove away from the hatch. Lillith, Tera and Iren dropped in afterwards, and Flare hit the emergency release for the doors.

They didn't move.

"Power's off." Flare muttured. Iren gave a quick nod, and placed his swords on his back, before grabbing the doors, both willing his semblance to weaken the doors, and shoving against the frame.

A few moments passed of Iren straining against the doors, before he managed to open them, the edges crumbling.

Not a moment after the doors opened a second deafening scream echoed throughout the excavation site, bouncing about over the stone walls of what looked like some kind of ancient temple, made of the same green-grey sludge.

The front doors to the temple were not open, but the bodies that littered around the entrance like so much evidence as to the evil that hid behind the door was enough to prove that they had been opened.

The team stepped out of the elevator, looking around at the devastation.

"What kind of Grimm caused this?" Tera asked, staring at a disemboweled Atlas soldier, hunched against a crate of fire dust.

"This wasn't Grimm." Flare replied, and no one had the time to question him as the third scream echoed out.

Flare leveled his weapon, now in its assault rifle form, at where the sound had came from, ready for the inevitable.

His team also readied their weapons, albeit nervously.

The inevitable came hurtling from the darkness of the caves that intersected around the site, screeching as their feet clicked against the stone of the floor.

"OPEN FIRE!" Flare cried out, firing his rifle at the rapidly approaching targets.

Each bullet hit, and the creatures collapsed under the barrage of gunfire, Flare being assisted by Lillith as she unloaded her pistols at the approaching creatures, a horrified expression underneath her helmet.

Tera and Iren were less inclined to the ranged combat against the swarming creatures, instead wielding their dual blades against any that managed to bypass the veritable hail of gunfire, the two slashing away at the horrific creatures that attempted to cut at the four, their razor sharp claws slicing through the air before being interrupted, either by a blade or a bullet.

Flare ran out of ammo and quickly rolled forwards, burying the blade of one of his knives into the head of one of the monsters, before he quickly spun, magazine already reloaded into his weapon, opening fire on the remainder of the swarm.

It was almost a minute of consistent, unrelenting attacks, before they finally stopped, the last few trickling out of the biggest cave opening in the rock.

"We need to go deeper. Clear the rest out." Flare said, ejecting his spent magazine and loading a new one.

He didn't get any answers, as he noticed how exhausted his team was. Iren was standing, leaning against his sword, which he had buried into the stone.

Tera and Lillith hadn't fared much better, arms dangling loosely as they panted, attempting to regain their breath.

It wasn't that they were exhausted, more likely they were in shock. A normal huntsman would never be prepared for creatures like that.

They weren't Grimm, and that fact was tormenting their minds, flowing back and forth through their thoughts like oil on water.

"We need to move." Flare said, staring at his team.

"Flare…" Lillith began, only to be cut off.

"What the fuck were those things?" Tera asked, interrupting Lillith.

"I said I'd explain when we were done." Flare said, withdrawing a knife from the head of a crumpled body of one of the monsters.

"No, you need to explain now!" Tera cried out.

"We don't have time!" Flare shouted back, stepping close to Tera, using his height to tower over her.

Underneath her helmet, Tera's eyes widened as she witnessed her leader angry at them for the first time.

Flare continued to shout at her. "If we don't kill them all now, we have a catastrophe on the levels of a Grimm invasion on our hands!"

This had all of Flare's team in shock.

"We need to keep moving, and kill whatever we see." Flare ordered, stepping back from Tera. He turned away, and began walking down the stone floor towards the cave opening.

Iren withdrew his sword from the rock, helping Lillith up from where she had slumped. Tera followed behind the them, daggers drawn.

Team FLIT proceeded into the dark cave, intent on fighting another battle.

* * *

 **Well, that was a chapter. Sorry about another cliffhanger, but I'd reached 5k words in this one, and I still need to plan the rest of the fight.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews, everyone, I really appreciate them. Especially you, ZENxRaider23, I'm a fan of The Warriors With Silver Eyes, anyone who hasn't read it should go check it out!**

 **Hope you enjoyed, and as always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	17. Chapter 17: Spelunking

**A/N: Well hey all. Not much to say up here, enjoy the chapter and review!**

* * *

The sound of metal on metal screeched through the cave, melding with the rest of the sounds of combat that occurred, echoing of the stone walls.

Deeper into the cave travelled FLIT, cutting down the crawling, screeching creatures that stormed in clusters at them.

"Do they ever end?" Tera called out, blocking an crude slash with one dagger, the other arcing over the creature's guard to slice into it's head.

No one responded to the rhetorical question, all too busy with defeating their own clusters of what was a veritable horde.

Lillith was the last to finish off her group, the final bullet in the magazine of Problem penetrating the skull of the last creature in this section of cave.

"Move." Flare said, already chambering a new round from the fresh magazine he'd loaded into Infinite Solution.

"Can't we take a break, Flare?" Lillith asked, panting.

Flare looked around, taking in the physical appearances of his team.

Tera and Lillith were looking worn down, not used to this kind of ongoing strenuous activity. Iren was doing better, but even he could use a break.

Flare sighed. "Ten minutes. Do what you need, but I'd rather we keep it short."

The seriousness in his voice brooked no argument, and what would normally be a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere, was instead one of somber silence and sheer exhaustion.

Even as Lillith, Tera and Iren slumped down, taking solace in the brief break, Flare stood, Infinite Solution at the ready, staring into the darkness.

"Flare. We've got time now, so please?" Lillith looked up at him, taking her new helmet off of her head.

The gun dropped from its ready position, and Flare turned to his team, all of which had removed their helmets, staring expectantly up at him.

Another sigh left Flare's mouth, and he joined his team in helmetlessness.

"This… is going to be a bit difficult." Flare began, before trailing off, looking into the darkness.

"Whenever you are ready, Flare." Iren said, patiently waiting.

"The things we are fighting are known as the Hive. Monstrous things, creatures of darkness. Not like the Grimm, though. These things are intelligent, smart enough to strategize." Flare began explaining.

The rest of his team wisely didn't interrupt.

"The ones we've been fighting are called Thralls. Only intelligent enough to follow orders, and only a threat in groups." Flare continued, gesturing to the bodies that littered the stone.

"Then, there's the Acolytes. More advanced Thralls, smart enough to operate as a squad. They've got guns, they shoot back, but they're still weak." Flare said, pulling a knife from his cloak, slowly flipping it end over end in his hand as he spoke.

"Further up the chain, we're dealing with the big guys. Knights, tall, scary bastards with big guns and swords. Then, we've got Ogres, massive mutated uglies of immense strength." Flare said, balancing the knife on his pinky finger.

"Finally, other than a few rarer bastards, we've got the top of the hierarchy, the wizards. Creepy floating guys, who command a lot of the smaller ones." Flare sheathed the knife back in the folds of his cloak.

"Woah." Lillith murmured under her breath.

"That's some heavy shit, boss. Where the hell did they come from?" Tera asked, staring wide eyed at her leader.

"That temple back there. Atlas scientists thought they'd find something down there, and they did. Lucky for us, one of them was smart enough to close the door before the rest made it out." Flare answered.

"So we clean up after them, make sure none of this 'Hive' make it topside?" Lillith asked.

"Yeah. Speaking of which, break's over. We're on duty, so ready up." Flare said, repositioning Infinite Solution into a ready stance.

With a collective groan of assent, the remainder of FLIT stood up and readied their weapons.

"Shall we?"

* * *

Flare was running low on ammunition.

That wasn't unexpected, considering how many enemies they had been up against thus far.

He wasn't the only one of the team though.

"Arrows, not great for hordes!" Tera cried out, leaping backwards as she came up empty, her quiver out of arrows.

"I'd suggest melee only, but half of us are already doing that!" Lillith piped up, slicing her half-chakrams through a Thrall, it screeching as it collapsed.

"Mmhmm." Flare murmured agreement, drawing Minimal Effort from its place, quickly driving it into the ribcage of a Thrall, before grabbing a knife from its holster and throwing it into the head of another.

"Ah fuck!" Tera shouted, stumbling backwards. Flare looked away from the Thrall he was decapitating, and saw a scorch mark on the ground in front of Tera.

"Acolytes!" Flare called out, quickly sheathing Minimal Effort. Infinite Solution quickly formed an assault rifle, and he pulled on the trigger, aiming at the glowing eyes in the darkness.

The rifle clicked, but no bullet exited the chamber. Pulling on the bolt, Flare noticed the rifle was empty.

Time for something new.

"Vier, that delivery come through?" Flare asked, swapping his comms to internal.

"Ready to go, Guardian." Vier responded, on point as ever.

Flare switched back to the regular comms, and reached into the folds of his cloak.

Out came an intricate hand cannon, gold, black and white, and distinctly alien. This was no Remnant weapon.

A pull of the trigger had a bright orange bullet trail out of the odd barrel, trailing orange fire.

It collided with the head of one of the Acolytes that hid in the darkness, and said Acolyte promptly exploded into a plume of flame, taking three other Acolytes with it.

A second shot exited the barrel, heat radiating out of the vents on the magazine, the bullet smacking into the lead Thrall of a swarm.

The chain reaction that was set off caused Lillith, Tera and Iren to turn away, the bright explosion disintegrating the horde.

A quick spin of Sunshot, and Flare holstered it in his empty pistol holster.

Three faces gaped at him from underneath their helmets, and Flare gave a quick head-tilt, before walking towards the ashes of his enemies.

His team followed closely, weapons still drawn.

They progressed deeper into the cave system, Lillith sticking very close to Flare, unable to take her eyes off of the hand cannon, incredibly interested in the design.

She was about to mention it, but her intake of breath was interrupted by the near-deafening screech that echoed about the stone walls.

The new weapon, Sunshot, exited it's holster, Flare holding it in a ready position. His team did the same, waiting for the new threat.

"Split!" Flare called out, and his team jumped in a different direction, quickly leaping away from where they had clustered.

It was perfect timing, as a barrage of purple-green energy impacted where they had been standing, scorching the ground.

"Acolytes!" Flare called out, identifying the enemies.

Said enemies quickly went into action, strafing across the stone, firing bolts at FLIT. Flare and Lillith replied, quickly returning fire, but Lillith soon ran out of ammo.

"Flare, we aren't geared for a ranged fight here!" Lillith called out to her leader.

"Get closer, your Aura should be able to take a few shots, but nothing unnecessary!" Flare replied, giving his team his orders.

Iren shot into action, a surprising amount of agility in his movement as he closed in, his greatsword swinging into action, cleaving an Acolyte in half with one swift motion.

Tera followed her partner, quickly dodging any gunfire that came her way, before her twin daggers embedded themselves in the head and chest of two Acolytes, the creatures screeching in death.

Lillith quickly dove into the action, slicing at the remaining Acolytes, her half-chakrams burning with hot fire.

Flare came in last, mopping up stragglers with fiery bullets from Sunshot. Each bullet hit its intended target, bursting into flame.

A few minutes of combat passed, and FLIT was left alone, the remaining few Acolytes retreating further into the tunnelling caves.

"How many of these guys are there?" Tera called out, watching the figures retreat.

"Could be just them, could be thousands more." Flare replied, checking his motion sensor.

"That isn't very inspiring." Lillith deadpanned.

Flare looked around, before glancing back at his motion sensor. "Something seems off. It's almost like we've been dancing around their main forces the entire time. I keep pinging motion to my left, but it's solid stone…" He trailed off, a frown on his covered face.

Flare walked up to the solid stone, and placed his hand against it, the flesh of his remaining upper limb making contact with the rock through the fabric of his glove.

"What is it?" Iren asked, speaking up for a rare occasion.

Flare never got the opportunity to respond, as the entire wall blew up.

* * *

He could taste blood and ash on his lips, and he coughed, eyes fluttering open.

He couldn't see much, and what he could was blurry and undefined, but the rushing shapes of green-grey figures caused him to shake his head, attempting to clear his vision.

It was probably a concussion, and shaking his head violently wasn't going to make it any better, far from it, but he could deal with injuries later.

He got to his feet and joined the slightly blurred figures of the rest of his team, who were fighting tooth and nail as a swarm of Thralls bigger than anything they had faced before rushed from the hole in the cave wall, where he had originally been standing.

His team was far too immersed into their individual fights to notice him being back up on his feet, but that suited Flare fine. They didn't need to worry themselves over him whilst their own lives were in danger.

Sunshot flicked up and trails of fire left the chamber, the explosive rounds impacting against the creatures that worshipped the Darkness, causing their bodies to burst into plumes of smoke and flame.

A mixture of arrows, bullets, and massive swings of a greatsword were the only defense against a significantly larger force, as FLIT fought their way through Thrall after Thrall, the more ranged-proficient members dispatching the occasional Acolyte, but it was to no avail.

They didn't end. Sprinting out of the shadows was more and more, but it was steadily becoming a mix heavier on the side of Acolytes and lighter on Thralls.

Flare could tell that they were making progress, but exhaustion was kicking in for all of FLIT, even Iren, and even with their Aura, it was beginning to hit hard.

Flare stepped closer to his foes as his current magazine ran empty, both Sunshot and Infinite Solution's longer ranged options having been already depleted. Lillith joined the more melee focused fray as she too ran out of rounds, her half-chakrams slashing through murky flesh like a hot knife through mildy-armoured butter.

Tera was with Iren, their partnership being proven fruitful as she covered all of his openings, her quick dagger strikes an effective addition to his heavy slashes, both carving their way through the Hive.

A bellowing roar caught Flare's attention, and he quickly identified it. "Ogre!"

Flare darted back, giving ground to the pressing forces of Hive as the massive Ogre lumbered out of the hole in the wall, it's misshapen head scraping against the rock at the top of the opening.

"Dust, that thing is ugly!" Tera exclaimed, grabbing her last arrows from her quiver.

"Don't get in it's view! Hit it from the sides!" Flare ordered, before switching Infinite Solution into one of its heaviest form, one of the few he was still yet to test.

"After you, boss-man!" Tera called out, and Flare obliged, levelling his rapidly shifting weapon at the colossal horror.

He pulled the trigger the moment the weapon had formed fully, and a massive shell exited the barrel, trailing smoke. It impacted dead-center on the Ogre, detonating in a plume of fire as it struck its mutated forehead.

The Ogre roared in pain, even as it stumbled, and Lillith and Tera were soon closing in, their smaller bladed weapons slicing and slashing against it as it tried and failed to hit it's deft opponents.

If the Ogre were smart, it would've wished for easier, slower targets. If the Ogre were _smarter_ , it would have preferred these smaller cuts, as Iren gained ground, pushing through any Hive in his way as he wound up, his greatsword arcing in a massive blow that severed the legs of the Ogre.

It roared another guttural roar, but it tapered off quickly as Iren's second blow swung back in, severing the creature's throat.

Tera and Lillith covered Iren as he buried his sword straight into the Ogre's head, dealing the final blow against the monstrosity.

"Nicely done, big man!" Tera called out from the left, as she nimbly cut apart a cluster of Acolytes.

"I'd be alright with a break now." Iren replied, the ghost of a smirk underneath his new helmet.

"No time, I'm afraid. We have quite a few more of these bastards to kill." Flare said, his knives flickering out from underneath the folds of his cloak, each blade thudding into its mark.

"Can't we just convince them to kill themselves, save us the effort?" Lillith asked, mildly annoyed at the Thrall in front of her that kept slashing at her.

"If you can suddenly learn how to speak Hive." Flare replied, as he reached for another knife. He came up empty handed, and quickly improvised, using his knee as a battering ram to shatter the skull of the Thrall that had closed in.

"Any idea how many more?" Iren asked, splitting his greatsword and using the two longswords to block the incoming shots from a few Acolytes that lurked in a corner.

"If I had to guess, those were their main strike force. They probably have a few tricky bastards left, but I 'reckon we can handle it." Flare replied, using the last few shots in Infinite Solution's scout rifle form to kill the Acolytes that had been bothering Iren.

"Speaking of tricky bastards!" Tera called out, ducking out of the way of a massive impact that caused the ground to shudder.

The other three members of FLIT turned to look at their new threat, and realised that there wasn't one threat, but three.

If the deafening screech wasn't enough to identify the floating Hive Wizard, the fact that it began shooting bolts of shadowy energy out of its hands was certainly a major clue.

The two other creatures were Knights, and they both wielded swords, one that had nearly cut Tera in half, aura or no.

"Iren, Lillith, Tera! Keep those Knights busy! I'll take the Wizard!" Flare called out, as he focused inwards even as he ran, barely avoiding the impacts of the bolts being fired by the floating horror.

Lillith and Iren nodded, and joined Tera, where she was busy dodging the consecutive strikes that came at her from both directions, her eyes glowing gold as she did so.

Lillith quickly slashed at the back of the first Knight, which spun around, throwing its arm back in an attempt to hit her. It was unsuccessful, and Tera used the opportunity to slash at its front. Caught between the pincer attack being dealt by the female members of FLIT, the Knight was significantly distracted, and getting more and more wounded by the moment.

The other knight swung its sword down, where the amalgamated metal met sharpened steel as Iren met its strike, blocking with enough force to make the ground around him quake, the solid stone cracking under the impact.

Iren felt his knees buckle slightly, but he resisted, straining against unforgiving strength as the Knight pushed down. The two kept their blades locked in what was slowly becoming a battle of pure strength, each straining against overwhelming power.

Any other Hive in the area had its attention drawn away from the two Knights and their opponents as the dark cave was lit by a bright orange light.

Flare stood, staring down the Wizard, wreathed in flame. In his prosthetic arm was a glowing hand cannon made entirely of flame.

He leveled it, the barrel aimed at the Wizard, and pulled the trigger, a bolt of fire and brimstone exiting the chamber and streaking down range, shredding the Wizard into small scraps of smouldering ash.

Two more well placed shots hit the Knights, one each, and the first disintegrated completely.

The second stumbled back, and Iren took the advantage, stepping forward and driving his sword through its chest.

But the Hive weren't done with them just yet, far from it.

More and more screeched, pushing through the hole in the wall, the last remnants of a threat long dormant becoming increasingly more agitated as they lost their leadership.

"We're out of ammo over here!" Lillith called out, as she and Tera backed up closer to Iren, who was looking incredibly fatigued, his sword swings lacking the typical power and momentum he was known for.

"I'm spent too! Just keep fighting, we're almost there!" Flare replied, leaping closer to the fray, his knives flickering back and forth, separating limbs from bodies and life from monster.

He could hear the pants of exhaustion from his three teammates blending in with the screeches of the Hive, and his own gasps. They were tired, worn and very weak at this point, running so low on aura a single hit would puncture skin and cause serious injury.

Flare paid that no mind, his concentration on slaying the Hive threat.

"Flare, we need to retreat!" Lillith called out, but Flare didn't hear it over the fuge that clouded his mind.

"Boss, we gotta go!" Tera cried out, a slash from a Thrall coming dangerously close to her side. Flare didn't hear her either, as he lodged the blade of a knife into the throat of an Acolyte that had gotten too close.

"Flare!" Iren shouted, and Flare missed it entirely, his thoughts occupied.

" _Guardian!"_

The shout brought all the attention, including Flare's, towards the small Ghost that hovered next to the preoccupied fighter, and even some of the Hive were caught off guard.

"You are retreating, Guardian." Vier ordered, and Flare finally took notice of his team.

They were barely standing, aura nearly depleted, exhausted beyond anything they had felt before.

Plus the expressions of shock on their faces at the floating robot that was glaring angrily at their leader with its single eye.

Flare didn't say anything, but started to back away from the enemies that pressed the guardian, but that proved fruitless, as he maintained his defensive position, slashing any attacks that came close to landing, killing or wounding various opponents.

The rest of FLIT followed his lead, still shocked by the little robot that followed Flare, and the four plus Vier retreated from the cave, slowly backing through the winding passages, each member taking out Thralls and Acolytes as the pressed themselves closer.

It took almost thirty minutes of the slow-paced retreat before they reached the temple entrance, still littered with bodies, before the Hive turned back into the shadows, the screeching and clicking of claws receding into the darkness.

"Flare, what the fuck is that." Tera exclaimed, but Flare's helmet was off, dangling in his hand. He turned a gaze at Tera, and she promptly shut up. The look in his eyes was menacing, something only Lillith had witnessed once before.

"We're leaving." Was all Flare said, before he motioned for his team to lead the way.

They did so quickly, only Lillith sparing a last glance at their visibly furious leader.

Flare waited for his team to get a considerable distance away, before he rounded on his companion.

"Vier, why?" Flare asked, straining to keep his temper in check.

"They would have died if I hadn't snapped you out of it, Guardian." Vier replied, calm as ever.

Flare clenched a fist, but he wasn't angry with Vier, or his team.

There was no more conversation as Flare followed his team out of the excavation site, and out of the facility.

* * *

 **Short one this time, and I'm sorry about the near month disappearance. Good news is, Merry Christmas and a happy holidays to all of you, regardless of what you celebrate. Consider this chapter a Christmas gift.**

 **As always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	18. Chapter 18: Conversations

**This one's a bit dialogue heavy, boys and girls, but it is what I know some of you have been waiting for for a while!**

* * *

"General, to be honest, I don't give a damn as to the logistics. If you don't want a horde of unexplainable monsters crawling up from the bowels of Remnant, I'd suggest you get some aircraft on overwatch ASAP," Flare said into his scroll, as he walked across the grass towards the Bullhead that hovered nearby.

"Flare, I thought you said you could handle this," General Ironwood sighed.

"You know what, General? You send three other Guardians with me and we'd be able to handle it, but this isn't Earth, and my team aren't Guardians. They have no experience fighting the Hive, and no idea _what_ they are. Frankly, I'm doing you a favour, because it was you and your scientists that let the Hive loose," Flare replied angrily.

"Fine. I'm deploying a squadron of dropships for aerial overwatch," The general said, frowning.

"Vier managed to map out the cave system. I'll send it through," Flare said, motioning for Vier to transmit the data.

Vier did so, albeit silently. Flare hung up the scroll, pocketing it as he approached the Bullhead.

Grabbing the edge, he hauled himself up into the aircraft, one hand on the upper railing, and one foot on the metal floor.

"Flare, you need to expla-" Lillith began, but Flare cut her off.

"Not here, not now," Flare responded.

"But-" Lillith tried again, but was silenced by a stern glare.

His team had taken off their helmets, but Flare had not. Now was not the time for them to see his face.

"Take us to the base of Beacon, in the Emerald Forest," Flare ordered the pilot, who gave a nod in confirmation.

The Bullhead lifted off, engines humming as the aircraft soared into the air.

"Where are we going?" Tera asked, looking at her leader who was still hanging out the side of the bullhead.

Flare didn't respond, simply content to hang there and watch the world pass by beneath him.

The flight was short, and halfway to their destination they passed the squadron of dropships, all angular metal and sleek lines.

"We've arrived, sir," The pilot called out from the cockpit, the Bullhead hovering a few feet above the treeline, "We've descended as far as we can."

Flare nodded to the pilot before dropping out of the aircraft, plunging straight through the branches of the lush trees.

His team followed suit, dropping into the forest below.

They touched down with a thudding impact as the aircraft flew away, the engines blowing leaves into the wind.

"Flare, why are we here?" Lillith asked, but Flare held up his palm, urging her to wait.

It was then that the wall of the mountain opened up, the concealed hangar door opening wide.

"Woah…" Tera muttered, stepping back in awe. Lillith and Iren joined her, speechless.

Flare didn't spare his team a glance as he stepped inside, his boots clicking on the concrete as he walked forwards.

His team quickly followed him inside, marvelling at the lithe aircraft that sat in place, its metal gleaming in the fluorescent light.

"Where is this?" Lillith asked, eyes wide.

"A hangar underneath Beacon, that Professor Ozpin is allowing me to use," Flare said, as he took off his helmet, Vier dematerialising it from his hand.

"This is yours?" Tera asked, looking at the craft.

"Yeah. It's what got me here," Flare answered, placing a palm against the hull.

"Flare, you need to start at the beginning, and explain everything," Lillith demanded, a small frown on her face.

Flare turned to face his team, who all looked to him expectantly.

"This isn't a happy story," Flare said, palm coming away from the craft, clenching into a fist.

He took in a deep breath before exhaling.

"I'm not from around here. I'm not even from Remnant. I'm from a planet called Earth, which is very, _very_ far from here," Flare began, his eyes straying from his team.

"Earth is a planet much like Remnant, but has a few key differences. The first being the lack of Grimm. The second being Light. Light, much like Aura, is a power granted to us, which allowed us to fight against the Darkness, like the Hive," Flare said.

"First, let me explain some background information. A little over seven hundred years ago, Earth was visited by an extraterrestrial being, known as the Traveller. The best way to describe the Traveller is as a god, an omnipotent being capable of providing Earth with technology far more advanced than anything seen previously," Flare explained.

"This was the start of the Golden Age. Humanity expanded into the solar system, settling planets and moons in a rapid expansion born of advanced technology and a much higher demand for resources. Things were good, and seemed as if they could only get better," Flare continued.

"It didn't. The Traveller, and the Light that it brought with it, had enemies, the Darkness. The Darkness was less of a solid entity and more of a overarching concept born into existence. That is less important than its four metaphorical horsemen it brought with it," Flare said.

"The Hive, the enemies you faced today. Alien creatures of undeath, that worship the Darkness as if it were their god-king. Then, we have the Fallen, scavengers that thrived on a rare material only discovered with the Light. Third, we have the Cabal, a war-mongering empire that only knows how to conquer. Finally, we have the Vex. We don't know much about the Vex, but what we do is terrifying. The Vex are a race of robots, possessing so much processing power that they can compute and control time and space," Flare listed.

"Humanity was suddenly on the back foot as four new warring factions hit from all sides at once. In the amount of years it had taken to settle new colonies on planets, it took months at most to be dismantled and conquered. The Golden Age was over, and a new era was born," Flare explained.

"Humanity was pushed to the brink, fighting until the only bastion of Light that remained was a single city. This was the moment the Traveller sacrificed itself to protect Humanity, and with its last act was to create the Ghosts," Flare said, motioning for Vier to appear.

Vier did so, hovering in front of the three members of FLIT.

"This is Vier, my Ghost, who you met earlier," Flare said.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet the three of you," Vier greeted.

Vier received two nods and a nervous wave in response.

"The purpose of the Ghosts was to find and resurrect warriors and soldiers, and to imbue them with Light. These resurrected fighters became Guardians, charged with the protection of the Light, and eradication of the Darkness," Flare said.

"I am one such Guardian. I am certainly not the only Guardian, either. There are many, but I am the only one on Remnant," Flare explained, before turning around.

"I had another team, once. When I was risen, I was not alone, unlike almost every other Guardian. Next to me was another Ghost, Casper, and their Guardian, Aya. The reason she was resurrected at the same time as I was because she was my sister," Flare said, and he waited as the fact sunk in, Lillith gasping quietly.

"The two of us, along with our close friend and teammate Tyron, were an unstoppable Fireteam, one of the best. I was young, and Aya and Tyron were a few years older, but they always called me the secret weapon," Flare said, with a quiet laugh.

"Then, we were tasked with an easy mission. A simple scouting mission on Earth's moon. I didn't want to go in the beginning, figured it'd be too easy, that a lesser known fireteam could deal with it, but Aya was insistent," Flare said, hands clenched into fists.

"It was anything but an easy mission. From the moment we entered the Hive temple, we were under siege by a Hive force that rivalled any I had ever seen before. Soon, we were overwhelmed and being pushed deeper and deeper into the temple. Then, things got worse," Flare said quietly, Iren and Lillith straining to hear.

"We were severely disconnected from the Light, and that was when Tyron took a serious blow to the chest. We called it there, Aya ordering a retreat, but it was a trap. We'd been lured inside by a large force, only to find out that they were the bait, and the larger force had surrounded us, preventing any escape. Tyron, wounded and slowed down, told Aya and I to leave him, that he would distract the Hive whilst we made a break for it," Flare explained.

"It's possible to revive a Guardian, if you have their body, their Ghost, and sufficient Light. We had none of those. He died that day, to save our lives. And yet it wasn't enough. He distracted the main force, but Aya and I were still trapped, fleeing for our lives from an enemy force so big that I didn't think it were possible," Flare said, one hand flat against the hull of his craft.

Flare turned to face his team, "We didn't make it very far before Aya took a hit, a serious one. She wasn't going to make it, she knew it, but I wasn't going to leave her behind, I couldn't lose both of them. She didn't give me a choice. She died in my arms," Flare said, a tear rolling out of the corner of his eye.

"Finally, it was just me. I'd lost an arm to a Knight with the biggest sword I'd ever seen, being pursued by a Hive force big enough to be the entire Hive presence on the Moon, and unsure of where I was supposed to go or what I was supposed to do. I don't even remember how I made it out, to be honest. It was kind of a mix between hiding in corners, using smoke grenades, and avoiding all the conflict I could, before I finally made it out," Flare spoke quietly, looking at the ground.

"It was three days later when another fireteam, one sent out to find us, found me, laying in the grey dust, bleeding slowly. They took me back home, where I was asked what happened. It was a shock to every Guardian, to see what was an indomitable fireteam taken down in the biggest Hive attack seen thus far," Flare said.

"It was when I was lying in a bed that I figured out why there were so many Hive there. The three of us were responsible for the death of Crota, the Hive Prince, and Oryx, the Taken King, two rulers of the Hive, although Oryx had changed. The Hive knew it was us three, and had organised a massive retaliation force to attack us in revenge," Flare explained.

"The worst part is that I was the one to get the final blow on both Crota and Oryx, and I was the only survivor. That tore me up, and I resolved to get my own revenge. I was fitted with a new arm, the exposure to the Darkness preventing any chance at regeneration, and I was back in active duty. The Vanguard, the leaders of the Guardians, tried to put me with a new fireteam, but I refused, and I set out alone to exact vengeance," Flare said, taking his hand away from his ship.

"I was depressed. That was pretty obvious to any outsider. I put myself into my work far more than I ever would have, tearing through any enemies of the Light in a way to right myself of the wrong I was convinced was my fault. It was a while before the Vanguard intervened. I kept trying to work alone, and they were beginning to get more and more frustrated with my refusal to follow orders," Flare said.

"Finally, the Hunter Vanguard, Cayde-6, came up with an idea. They would send me on a solo scouting mission to a planet they had discovered with the use of an old Golden Age probe that another fireteam had managed to salvage. I was to fly to this planet in cryosleep, and determine if it was safe to colonise. What I decided was to fly here without cryo, and use that year to train," Flare explained.

"That was probably the best decision I'd made since the Moon. Over the year that it took to reach Remnant, I mellowed a little, and began to realise that I'd been an awful Guardian. I had been forgetting the most crucial part of being a Guardian, defending the Light. When I arrived here, and found out that Humanity was already here, I took it upon myself to uphold the duty of a Guardian here, on Remnant," Flare said, finally looking up at his team.

"I'm truly sorry about earlier. I thought I could control my emotions, and not lose control, but it appears that that is not the case. If you feel as if you don't want me as your team leader, just say so. I won't take any offense," Flare said, looking back at the floor.

Lillith looked to her two teammates, before turning back to Flare.

"No. You're our team leader, and we're your team. Through thick or thin, hard times or not. We're here for you, as long as you are here for us," Lillith said, a smile on her face.

Flare gave a single, grateful laugh. "Thank you, all of you. That means… a lot to me."

"Well said, Ms Wrath. I'm proud to call all of you students."

The voice came from the elevator at the far end of the room, and FLIT all turned to see Ozpin walking towards them, cane in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

"Professor!" Lillith exclaimed in surprise, straightening up.

"I'm glad to see you finally told your team the truth of your sudden appearance, Mr Archid. This gives me a rather unique opportunity," Ozpin said, taking a sip of coffee.

"Opportunity, sir?" Flare asked.

"Yes, Mr Archid. You and your team are the only living people on Remnant to have fought the Hive and lived, plus your prior experience with the Darkness. I have another job for you, if you'll accept. I feel this one might suit you," Ozpin spoke, cane clicking against the concrete of the hangar.

Flare remained silent, waiting for the headmaster to explain.

"I would like you to pick some teams from the first and second years that you feel have promise, and teach them how to fight these enemies that you have faced. I feel as if we will need students with more expertise before they face these enemies, so we avoid another situation like today," Ozpin explained.

"Of course, sir. I was going to talk to you about something along those lines, but do you really think I'm cut out for instructing?" Flare asked.

"Of course, Mr Archid. You are the only one qualified to teach about these topics, so I believe that you are the best person to see about this," Ozpin said, a hint of humour underlying in his speech.

Flare gave a small laugh. "I suppose you are right on that mark, sir. Shall I send you the list of students we'll be training?"

"I expect to see it later this afternoon, Mr Archid. You begin tomorrow," Ozpin said, and Lillith paled.

"Tomorrow?" She asked.

"Actually, Ms Wrath, I am inclined to agree with your sentiments. Not only do all of you need time to relax, Mr Archid requires time to plan and teach the three of you the intricate details of the Darkness. You will begin after the ball, but realise that the first years will be going on their missions," Ozpin said, taking another sip of coffee.

Flare nodded as the headmaster walked back towards the elevator, the door closing behind him.

"So… now what?" Flare asked, looking to his team.

"Now? We get some well deserved rest," Iren said, before making his way towards the elevator, flanked by Tera.

Lillith watched the two partners walk past the ship and towards the elevator doors, before turning to her partner.

"Flare, I'm really sorry to hear what happened. We're always here for you, and thank you for confiding in us," Lillith said.

Her partner gave a sad smile. "Thanks, Lillith. Go. I'll catch up. I just need to get some stuff done down here."

Lillith nodded, and quickly caught up with the other members of FLIT.

Flare watched her leave, the sad smile never leaving his face.

* * *

"Doctor. Was it a success, or a failure?" The woman asked, looking at the mustached man that sat to the side of her.

"Hmmph. Difficult to tell, I'm afraid. I'm told that it is a success in the theoretical aspect, but as for practicality there is still a ways to go. It will be ready in time, however, that I have no doubt," The man replied, looking at the data that trailed across the screen on his Scroll.

"Good. And the four that reside with Cinder?" The woman asked.

"Their gear holds steady, My Lady. Cinder reports that they are proving very useful," The man replied, switching to a different set of data.

"Very good. Let Cinder know she is clear to proceed."

* * *

 **Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope that was as good as you thought it would be! I'll be back hopefully soon with a new chapter, too!**

 **As always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	19. Chapter 19: Sky-Watching

**Hey all, a short chapter today. I'm starting to get really busy, between writing and other life stuff, so future chapters are going to be shorter, but they should hopefully be more often than they have been recently.**

* * *

Flare knew his team was in shock. It was easy to see that they were still waiting for the facts to sink in.

Lillith seemed to grasp it without too much of a problem, but Iren and Tera seemed to be struggling a little more with the concept that he was actually an alien from a different planet that was at war with four or more other alien races.

Then again, who wouldn't be a little shocked at that. Perfectly natural.

Flare was outside, walking through the Emerald Forest, alone in what seemed like slowly growing habit.

Although this one was born less of a depressive attitude, and more of an awkwardly nervous energy.

Tomorrow was the Dance, which was rather surprisingly a daunting prospect for the Guardian.

Flare didn't know any traditions on Remnant, and he had no idea whether or not there was a specific way of asking someone to the dance.

He and Lillith had grown close, closer than he had honestly expected, they all had, but Lillith…

He couldn't say love, not in the way that taking her to the dance meant, but he didn't have much experience in loving outside of family, so he was a little out of his depth, and he couldn't just shoot the problem more.

Flare buried the blade of a knife into the head of a lone Beowolf, the monster roaring in pain before it collapsed onto the ground, bursting into smoke and ash.

Flare had a couple reasons to be out here, but the first was already complete, and the second was just an excuse to avoid his team and any awkward, confusing questions that he would end up covering after the Dance anyway.

"I had a feeling you would be out here, Mr Archid."

Flare whipped around, blade at the ready, before the realisation of who it was kicked in.

"Professor Ozpin, sir. Can I help you?" Flare asked.

"No, Mr Archid, but I believe I can help you. What is on your mind?" Ozpin asked.

"It's nothing to worry about, sir. I just don't know how to ask someone to the Dance," Flare explained, as he cleaned his knife on the hem of his cloak.

"You simply ask, Mr Archid. That is all there is to it," Ozpin replied, a smirk on his face, as he pulled out a thermos from his jacket, pouring himself a cup.

"Really, sir? That's it? No complex system, no test, just ask?" Flare was startled by the simplicity.

"Well, Mr Archid, I'm not planning on flinging the dancers off a cliff, if that's what you were wondering. Although, that does sound like an entertaining idea," Ozpin said, before taking a sip of his coffee and screwing his face in disgust. "How can Barty stand to drink this decaf horror?"

Flare laughed, and then paled. Doctor Oobleck drank decaf?

That was something he'd have to look into at a later date.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, sir, I have somewhere I need to be."

* * *

Lillith was in shock. This wasn't possible!

How could it even be true!

It was simply too incredible to believe!

There were…

"There are so many dresses here!" Lillith exclaimed, Tera looking over at her with an expression of surprise, and a quirked eyebrow.

"I don't really see the point, though," Tera said, as she ran her hand over a soft blue dress.

"You avoided the first Dance because you were scared it'd show off your faunus heritage, right?" Lillith asked.

Tera nodded in response.

"Well, this time our team leader is so much better! Besides, do you really think Iren cares about some scars?" Lillith replied.

"Yeah, but…" Tera began.

"No! No buts! Get yourself something nice! This is for you, no one else! It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks!" Lillith interrupted, passing a pale green dress into Tera's outstretched arms, and shoving the taller girl into a changing room.

Lillith watched her teammate close the door, before she turned and looked for her own dress.

She still held out faith that Flare would notice her attempts at affection, but she was still herself, so it either was completely obvious, or Flare had completely missed the hints.

Then again, with the truths he'd dropped not too long ago, it wasn't a surprise that their leader wasn't the most socially adequate of people. He was on an alien world, after all.

Well, not entirely alien, but enough to cause some quote-unquote fitting in issues.

She just wondered if he'd ever learnt how to dance.

* * *

"Hey big man, you seen Lillith anywhere?" Flare asked, as he walked into the dorm.

"Hello, Flare. Lillith and Tera are currently out in Vale, but they didn't say what they were doing. They did say they would be back soon, however," Iren replied, as he sat at one of the desks, pen scribbling away at a sheet of paper that Flare knew was an essay for Oobleck.

"Alright then," Flare said, walking into the kitchen and grabbing out a few ingredients for a sandwich. "You want one?" He asked.

"Absolutely," Iren said, clicking the pen shut.

Flare laughed, as he quickly made two sandwiches. He passed one to Iren, who quickly scarfed it down, and returned to his essay.

Flare looked over his teammates shoulder as he took a bite. "How's the essay going?"

Iren looked at Flare, and slowly but surely lowered his head onto the table. "Horribly. Oobleck is going on about some kind of astronomical event that happened years ago, but there is shockingly no information on it in the library. There was one book, but it was taken out almost immediately, and there are no other locatable copies."

"What was the event?" Flare asked.

"The shattering of the Moon," Iren answered.

"Huh. Vier, you got anything on that?" Flare asked, and his eternal companion materialised in the air.

"Greetings, Iren. As for your question, Guardian, I do not, but I can in a moment. Hold on."

The two male members of FLIT waited a single second before Vier began speaking again.

"The shattering of the Moon is result of an impact by a massive unidentified object that collided with the Moon's orbit two hundred years ago. This impact caused a variety of effects over Remnant, namely altering the already uninhabitable landscape, and changing tidal patterns," Vier explained.

"What was it that impacted?" Flare asked, curious.

"It is unknown, as Remnant does not possess enough capable technology to leave orbit, but there are a few details known about the object. It was massive, and almost looked rectangular," Vier answered.

"Vier, are there any images or simulations of the object?" Flare asked.

Vier didn't answer, instead he seemed to be struggling.

"Unfortunately, Guardian, I cannot find anything of the sort. There is one, but I can't access it. It's encryption is so strong that I can't even fathom how to begin decrypting it," Vier replied.

Flare looked between Vier and Iren, before shrugging and taking another bite.

"A problem to deal with at a later date, I guess. That helpful, Iren?"

"Yes, thank you Flare, Vier. I should get back to it," Iren said, pen clicking as he went back to scrawling ink on the paper.

* * *

It was evening when Lillith and Tera arrived back at the dorm, but Flare was nowhere to be found.

"Lillith, go to the roof," Iren said, looking at his smallest teammate.

Lillith raised an eyebrow, but she began to follow the instructions given to her, climbing the stairs in the dorm building till she reached the door to the roof, which was already ajar.

Flare was outside, sitting on the railing that overlooked the edge of the building.

"Flare?" Lillith ventured, walking out into the evening sky.

"Hey, Lillith," Flare replied, staring at the sky.

Lillith took a seat next to him, and joined in the sky-watching.

"Do you miss Earth?" Lillith asked, after a moment.

Flare didn't answer for a time, just content to think about his answer.

When he did finally answer, it wasn't what Lillith expected.

"Honestly, I don't. Remnant is picturesq, and Earth is overgrown and destroyed. Sure, you sure some similarities, but your world isn't under siege by constant threat. The Grimm are a single threat, but you already have ways to deal with them, and the Hive, well, I'll deal with them one way or another," Flare said.

"I miss the people. I miss Aya, I miss Tyron, and I miss all the other Guardians. But I wouldn't go back. I won't go back. I have nothing there for me anymore," Flare continued.

He looked down from the stars, and met Lillith's eyes.

"Remnant is my responsibility now, as the sole Guardian. Besides, I have you guys. I have you."

Lillith breathed in.

"Lillith, would you go to the Dance with me?" Flare asked nervously.

Lillith laughed. "Of course!" She exclaimed happily.

Flare released a deep breath. "Oh thank god. That was far more stressful than it had any right to be."

Lillith giggled, before reclining into her partner. "Can we just stay out here and watch the sky for a bit?"

"Sure."

* * *

 **Ah! An actual relationship blooms! This was teased for a while, but the dance seems to be the best place to put this. Nothing much else to say except thank you all for your reviews! Your advice, your critiques, your praises, I thank you for it all!**

 **And, as always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	20. Chapter 20: Nightmares

**Fair warning before today's chapter. This one is a little more violent than usual chapters. Just a warning.**

* * *

Flare woke up, the taste of metal on his lips. He coughed and spat, globs of red-stained saliva hitting the dirt in front of him.

He crawled up into a sitting position, looking around.

All around him was blackness, the endless expanse of nothingness.

And in front of him, upon a throne of skulls, sat the masked woman from the White Fang outpost.

"Who… Where…" Flare croaked out, his voice hoarse.

The woman said nothing, simply content to sit and stare at him from behind the mask.

Flare had the sudden urge to look down as his chest burst into pain.

All across his chest were sharp blades, buried into his torso. He was covered in blood, and it was then that the darkness receded, revealing what could only be called a battlefield.

All around him lay dead bodies.

Ruby lay to his left, her scythe lodged in her torso, her hand holding Weiss's, who was slumped over, a barely recognizable charred corpse, Myrtenaster buried in her side.

Yang and Blake lay across each other just to the side of the other two members of Team RWBY. Yang was missing all her limbs, a torso with a head atop the bleeding body of Blake, her severed head a foot away from where it should've been.

To Flare's right, Jaune lay, Pyrrha's weapon spearing his left leg to the ground, Ren's blades in his right leg, and a heavy hammer trapping his head to the floor. Next to him lay the three corpses of his team, covered in cuts and stab wounds from a longsword.

Behind Flare lay Tera and Iren, each of their weapons lodged in their throats, the two slumped together, forming an archway.

All around, Flare could see his friends and allies, students and teachers, all dead, littering the battlefield.

At Flare's feet, the last place he could look, was Lillith.

Lillith was alive, blood gurgling out of a serious wound on her neck.

"Lillith!" Flare croaked, placing his hands against her throat, applying pressure.

It was then that the woman stood up, slowly walking down the bony steps that rose from the dirt.

She closed in on Flare and Lillith, and bent over to the two.

Flare looked up, and met her eyes through the mask.

She drew a pistol, and pulled the trigger.

Lillith twitched as the bullet thudded into her skull, and then was still.

The pistol rose to Flare's head, but the trigger was never pulled.

The woman disappeared into smoke, and Flare was left to wallow in his misery.

Once again the lone survivor.

* * *

"Flare! Are you alright?"

Flare awoke with a start, his team crowding around his bed, all staring at him.

He was drenched in sweat, and he wiped his brow.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," Flare said, standing up.

"Are you sure?" Lillith asked, concerned.

Flare just nodded, before looking at her for more than a moment.

There was a beat of silence, before the guardian turned and grabbed some casual clothes from a drawer, heading for the bathroom.

Flare took a quick shower, washing the sweat away, before dressing in his casual gear.

He unlocked the bathroom door and blinked outside of the dorm room, plummeting towards the loamy dirt at the base of the building.

He landed flawlessly, feet planted firmly onto the dirt, and began walking.

' _Why now?'_ Flare thought, as he walked around Beacon's courtyards.

There weren't that many students around, the majority probably either getting a pleasant late sleep, or getting ready for tonight's dance.

His mind traced loops around the word dance, before he quickly began sprinting towards the shuttle bay to Vale.

He hadn't gotten a suit.

Today hadn't gone great so far for the guardian, and it appeared that it was only going to get worse.

* * *

As it turned out, getting a suit was far easier than Flare had expected, considering there was a specific store that sold the specifically designed suits for the Dance.

After purchasing one and dematerializing it for later, Flare was left with a rather large amount of time to kill, and a lingering memory that Flare failed to forget, no matter how many times he tried.

It was a rather peaceful mid-morning, which was rather typical for the peaceful ambience that Vale always seemed to have, and that bothered Flare.

Even as he walked down the streets, Flare noticed the police officers that lingered, but it wasn't a on-duty kind of lingering. It was the kind of lingering a person did when they had time to kill and no work to do.

One would think that this was a good thing, the lack of crime, but Flare was concerned. With the amount of Dust that Torchwick had been stealing, the White Fang upping their presence, and the mysterious masked four, people would be led to believe that the police would be swamped with work.

It seemed Vale was experiencing a rare time of uplifted sales in both coffee and doughnuts, and whilst that was certainly beneficial for any who sold such items, the entire police force having nothing to do was certainly not so great, no matter how many times the politicians attempted to convince civilians.

No one had seen hide nor hair of Roman, his enforcer-slash-eye-candy Neo, the masked team, or even the White Fang since their various encounters, from the outpost to the most recent engagement at the rally.

Honestly, he should've been glad to get at least a single night off for the dance, but he wasn't holding out hope that it would last.

Flare pulled out his scroll as he walked, looking back at the list of students he had picked for Ozpin's 'Accelerated Training Program', as the headmaster had taken to calling it. What it actually should have been called was the 'Prepare For Your Inevitable Death Facing Foes That Will Haunt Your Nightmares Program', but Flare wasn't picky.

It certainly wasn't as catchy or appetizing as ATP. The acronym certainly was easier than PFYIDFFTWHYNP.

Flare had been absolutely certain about some of the teams he'd picked, and a few he was still undecided on.

Teams RWBY and JNPR, definitely. Team SSSN and Team CFVY, he was less sure about, but he knew they could keep up, and it would be nice to have a fellow second year team around.

He was mostly undecided on bringing in Team CRDL. He knew Tera would be justifiably pissed, but having another team capable of fighting the Hive was a benefit that outweighed the detriment, and maybe it would do them some actual good for once.

Besides, he could always get Tera and Velvet to tag-team all of CRDL for some sweet revenge. That'd be a match he'd enjoy watching.

Flare nodded to himself, side-stepping around a hooded figure that walked past him. With a press, Flare sent the list of teams to Ozpin, and pocketed his scroll.

Flare sensed a presence behind him at that moment, but with one hand on his scroll and the other not in a good position, he couldn't react as a blade bit right through his aura and into his back, held steadily in the hand of the hooded figure.

"Come with me, or I'll cut you apart," The hooded figure said, and Flare gave a single nod, keeping calm as he was led into an alleyway.

They walked until they were in the shadows, the morning sun not quite reaching past the buildings on either side. Flare went to turn his head, but a firm hand wrenched it back to face forwards, as three more hooded figures stepped out of the shadows, all holding various weapons.

It was the moment that they stepped forwards that Flare realised he wasn't truly in any danger.

They weren't working for Roman, the White Fang, or whoever the masked four were working for. These were just kids, ex-hunters-in-training, trying to make a quick Lien scaring some passerby.

"You kids got names?" Flare asked, the knife at his back sliding slightly deeper at his words.

"Shut up, Faunus lover. Give us your money and scroll, and we'll let you live," The hooded figure behind him growled, and Flare quirked an eyebrow.

"Faunus lover? Really? How the hell is that supposed to be an insult?" Flare asked, and one of the hooded figures in front frowned, pointedly not looking at his mark.

"It's an insult 'cause you like animals, ain't it?" The one in front asked the one to Flare's left.

"Shut it, Rogue!" The one on the left said, before blanching.

"You ain't supposed to use names!" The one called Rogue shouted.

"Yeah, c'mon, Ripper! No names!" The one on the right cried out, before covering her mouth with her hand.

"Fuck you, Nova!" Ripper shouted, and Flare laughed as the man behind Flare sighed.

"You guys are really bad at this. First time? No need to feel so nervous," Flare mocked, before quickly blinking behind the one who had held the knife to his back, grabbing his arm and wrenching it behind his hood.

"Look, you should probably just leave, and I'll forget you were even here," Flare said, looking at Rogue, Ripper and Nova. "As for you, you stabbed me. I want you to know that that was a bad idea."

Weapons slid out of sheaths, and the three stepped forwards, suddenly a lot less talkative.

"Or, you could do that and I could kick all your asses right here right now, whilst the entire Vale police force watches. Which would you prefer?" Flare asked looking at all of them.

They looked between each other, before back to what Flare assumed was their leader.

"What do we do, Brass?" Nova asked.

Brass, as he was now identified, just growled, before he exploded.

Flare was launched back, his aura flaring as it took the brunt of the point blank detonation. He hit the street and skidded, smacking against the curb on the other side.

Flare could taste smoke and blood, but he was relatively unharmed, the shock of the explosion had simply caused him to bite down on his tongue, which his aura was already repairing rapidly.

Looking around, Flare couldn't see the four, but he could see the two buildings on either side charred black.

"Hey, are you alright?" Someone asked, and Flare nodded, standing up from where he had landed.

"What happened?" The man asked, and Flare turned to face them.

An officer, actually excited to have something to do, despite his attempt to maintain an air of professionalism.

"Just a couple morons messing with some cheap Dust. Nothing to worry about, officer," Flare replied, dusting himself off.

"Are you sure?" The officer asked, visibly disappointed.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me, officer," Flare said, checking his aura levels on his scroll quickly. Still above seventy-five percent, so it wasn't the biggest hit he'd taken.

Flare waved to the officer as he set off back the way he came, towards the Beacon shuttle dock, thinking.

The most prominent thought was how that blade had pierced his Aura. He'd had time to react, plenty of it, and had done so, but the blade had ignored it as if it were a hot knife through butter.

He had no way of knowing if it had done some kind of damage to his aura or not, the explosion combined with the fact that he hadn't the time to check his aura beforehand prevented that.

There was only one option left to him, at that point.

"Vier, can you see if there was any cameras pointed our way?" Flare asked through the mental link.

"I'll see what I can do, Guardian, but I have doubts. They weren't as new to that as you thought they were. It appeared that they were either just forgetful, or uncaring. I'm unsure which is worse," Vier said through the link.

"Plus, that explosion. That wasn't a dust crystal, I don't think. Semblance, maybe?" Flare muttered aloud, distracted.

At least he'd managed to get his mind off of the dream.

* * *

Stepping back onto solid ground after the flight back to Beacon was certainly more hectic than usual. The courtyard was a bustling hive of activity, and Flare wandered through the crowds of people towards the ballroom.

Surprisingly, the crowd thinned out the closer he got, and soon he was inside, the ballroom looking nothing like it did the first time he'd been inside.

"Hey Yang, Weiss. How's the decorating going?" Flare asked, noticing the two girls frantically darting about, correcting each others 'mistakes'.

"Yeah, it's going well!" Yang called out, releasing her grasp on a massive speaker, the ground shaking as it thudded down on its impromptu landing strategy.

"It would be going better if this oaf wasn't so dead set on making this a rave!" Weiss said, with a considerable amount of heat. She turned to Flare, a softer expression on her face. "Which colour doily do you think suits the tablecloths?"

Flare stared between the two identically coloured pieces of delicate fabric.

"Um… the left?" He guessed, completely out of his depth.

"Of course, how could I be so foolish! The left is the superior colour, naturally. Thank you, Flare," Weiss said, throwing the right-handed fabric over her shoulder.

"Yeah, no problem Weiss," Flare said, before turning to Yang and raising an eyebrow.

She responded with a shrug, and Flare nodded in understanding.

It was clear to both of them that Weiss was insane, and needed serious therapy.

A shame, for someone so young to succumb to the societal pressures of being perfect, and to snap under the pressure.

"Well, I've got some stuff to do, so I'll leave you girls to it," Flare said, waving goodbye as he left, adjusting his heading towards his dorm.

"Seeya Flare!" Yang called out. Weiss didn't respond, seemingly torn between the doily in her left hand and the one on the floor.

Entering the dorm building, Flare had to quickly dodge out of the way as a swarm of first-years burst forth from the hallways, hell-bent on getting a good lunch.

Following the first-years was a much smaller crowd of far more cynical second-years, headed to get whatever they could before they were forced to cook for themselves.

Flare waved a quick hello to Cerulea, who nodded back with a smile.

The crowd had considerably lessened, and Flare now found himself able to proceed towards his dorm room.

With a knock for safety, the door opened and Tera stared menacingly at Flare.

"Something up?" Flare asked, as he squeezed past and into the kitchen, marvelling at his lack of food choices. Something tugged at the back of his mind, a thought that he should probably join the swarm of students headed for the cafeteria.

"You were missing for a good part of the morning, Flare," Tera said grumpily, sitting on one of the couches.

"I was down in Vale, buying a suit and getting acquainted with some foreigners," Flare responded, a smirk on his face.

"Foreigners? Like you?" Tera asked, suddenly curious.

Flare shook his head. "Nah. From Vacuo, my guess. Way too loose to be Atlesian, and not Pyrrha-y enough to be from Mistral. Rough types."

"And how'd you figure they were rough types, Flare?" Iren asked, sticking his head out of the bedroom.

Flare turned to face the other male member of FLIT. "They _unsuccessfully_ tried to mug me. Weren't very good at it."

"Oh really?" Tera laughed. "I can imagine. Trying to mug you would be like a farmer picking a fight with our resident Mistralian champion.

Flare smiled in good humour. "Well, that's all said and done now. You two ready for tonight?"

Iren and Tera shared a single look between each other, before promptly turning a shade of red.

Flare laughed, a massive smile on his face. "I'm so proud of you two."

Tera frowned, still tomato coloured. "We aren't your children!" She exclaimed.

Flare just laughed harder.

* * *

This was it.

It was time.

Dressed to the nines in his suit, Flare stepped out the dorm with Iren at his side, at the behest of the two female members of FLIT.

"You know, when I said it was time, I figured the girls would be done by now. Fool me once," Flare said, nearly an hour having past.

"I had been wondering why they made us leave so early," Iren replied, his massive frame a stark contrast to Flare's much smaller body. It made them seem like older and younger brothers, respectively, even if Flare was technically older.

Iren liked to stress the technically part.

The two stood there for a few more moments, before the door opened.

Flare's eyebrows raised in surprise, and Iren was rendered speechless.

In front of them stood Tera, wearing a stunning pale green dress.

"Well? How do I look?" Tera asked.

Iren opened his mouth to speak, but no words left, his jaw working but nothing computing.

"I think you broke him, Tera," Flare said, smiling.

Iren snapped back to reality. "You look spectacular, Tera."

Tera blushed, and quickly walked over to her partner and date, wrapping her arm around his and practically pulling him towards the ballroom.

Before they left, Tera turned and gestured at Flare, indicating that he should step inside.

Flare did so, stepping over the threshold.

He blinked.

He shook his head in disbelief.

In front of Flare stood the most beautiful thing Flare had ever witnessed, and Flare had been privy to some of the universe's best kept secrets.

"Wow," Flare said, unable to form coherent thoughts larger than a few syllables.

Lillith blushed, rubbing at the back of her neck. "Really?"

Coherent thoughts suddenly flooded into Flare's mind, his brain snapping back into action. "Yeah, Lillith. I don't know what to say. You look stunning."

Lillith stood in front of Flare, wearing a light purple dress, the fabric shimmering in the light.

Flare just stood and stared, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Shall we?" Lillith asked, noting how her partner was frozen.

Flare blinked, and smiled. "Yeah."

Lillith took the proffered arm, feeling the cool metal against her skin. She leant into him more, and the two made their way down to the ballroom.

For the first time in a long time, Flare felt at peace.

At least, he did. Until a thought flickered through his head, uninvited.

' _The calm before the storm.'_

* * *

 **A reasonable chapter today, length-wise. We're starting to get closer and closer to some shit going down, and I'm excited for what's ahead!**

 **A second note, I'm working on a little one-shot just to tide me over as I work my way through some life things, and writing will probably be slowing down as I start to attend Uni.**

 **Thanks for all your reviews, I really appreciate them! And to those who've noticed a few of the things I've hidden, and things that were less hidden but still there, just you wait! I have some lore ideas, and I really like them too, so I hope you do too!**

 **And, as always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	21. Chapter 21: Dancers

**Hey all, back with another chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

The ballroom had definitely changed since Flare's first time in it, part of a year ago.

In hindsight it seemed so long ago, that night he had arrived.

He'd fought a bunch of werewolf-like monsters of pure darkness, met a girl who fought with the biggest weapon he'd seen in years, met her family, beat the crap out of her sister, travelled to a school that trained monster-killers, became a student at said monster-killer school, became leader of a team of monster-killers in training, fought against the White Fang, conducted a heist from a top secret Atlesian facility, fought a professional thief's assistant-slash-bodyguard, went on a mission that led to the discovery the presence of Hive on Remnant, was on the receiving end of an attempted mugging, and finally asked his partner and friend out to the dance.

That was a lot of things he'd done in a little over half a year, and that was a brief overview.

If he went into detail, it'd probably equal the size of a large book, easily a hundred thousand words.

"Flare, look at this place! Yang and Weiss really did a great job!"

Lillith's words drew Flare back from his mind, and he admired the work done by his two younger friends.

The ballroom had been transformed, with clusters of pink and blue balloons, pink lengths of fabric that Flare couldn't put a name to crossing the ceiling, and pale white chandeliers.

Across the floor were tables with pristine white tablecloths, and the center of the ballroom was taken up by plenty of students dancing with their dates.

"Hey you two! I didn't know you were going with each other!"

Flare and Lillith looked back down from where they were staring, noticing a beautifully dressed Yang in a white dress, leaning against a podium.

"Hey Yang. What's up?" Flare asked, before being promptly ignored as Yang and Lillith began trading compliments about each other's clothing.

After a few moments Yang swapped her attention to Flare, and with a gaze that made Flare want to cover himself, she nodded in affirmation to Lillith.

"He definitely cleans up nicely, Lillith. I'm almost jealous," Yang said, as Flare just sighed.

Lillith just hummed in agreement as she took her date by the arm, his real one, tugging him further into the ballroom.

The crowd of students was slowly gaining mass, and Flare noticed quite a few people he knew wandering around, either getting drinks, finding tables, talking or dancing.

Lillith continued dragging him towards the punch table, both intent on getting a drink and talking to the two people that stood around it.

"Hey there Ruby, Jaune! Enjoying yourselves?" Lillith asked, approaching the two socially awkward teens, who had just finished cheers-ing each other.

Jaune simply nodded, whereas Ruby was quick to speak. "Wow, Lillith! You look really good! You too, Flare!"

"I love your dress, Ruby!" Lillith exclaimed, and that was when Flare lost his partner into the ever-confusing thing that spanned the universe, simply known to most as the dreaded girl-talk.

Flare quickly stepped next to Jaune, settling into a more relaxed position. "How's your night going so far, Jaune? Got a date?"

Jaune gave a half-hearted smile, before shaking his head. "No. I was going to try, but someone else beat me to it."

Flare nodded in understanding. "Tough break. Whoever they were, they're missing out."

Jaune gave another half-hearted smile. "Thanks, Flare. At least you and Lillith make a great couple."

Flare laughed at that. "After I worked up the damn nerve to actually ask her. Took me ages to figure it all out. Didn't think I was up to it, or I was misreading the situation."

Jaune chuckled, before taking a sip of his punch. "Well, at least you managed to get it all sorted."

Flare put a hand on Jaune's shoulder, giving him a reassuring pat on the back. "Don't worry, Jaune. You've got three more years of dances, plenty of time. There will always be more opportunities."

Jaune nodded. "I guess so." He looked up, noticing something in the distance. "Hey, I'll be back soon. Got some stuff to do."

Flare nodded, watching the younger blond walk towards the staircase at one end of the room.

With a turn, Flare joined his partner and the young reaper, who had continued their conversation unabated while Jaune and Flare had conversed.

"So, Flare, can you dance?" Ruby's question caught Flare off guard, and he was momentarily flustered, a rare thing for the guardian.

Once he regained his verbal footing, so to speak, he replied. "Of course I can. You don't get as good with combat footwork as I am without also ending up good at dancing."

Both girls raised an eyebrow each at that, exchanging looks.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. When push comes to shove we'll see who can dance and who can't. I'm pretty sure I overheard you mention lady-stilts?" Flare countered.

"Shut up," Ruby said, pouting.

Flare laughed, and Lillith joined in with a poor attempt to conceal her giggling.

"C'mon, Lillith. Let's go socialise with everyone else, so they can gawk at me. I know the only reason I'm here is some much needed male eye-candy," Flare said with a smirk, and Lillith smacked him on the arm, even as she gave Ruby a quick wave.

The two walked along further into the crowd, noticing a few people that they had met in passing, but mostly keeping an eye out for people that they actually knew.

Lillith tugged Flare along towards Ren and Nora, who were standing just to the side of a table, not dancing but content to watch others.

The two duo's exchanged a quick conversation full of compliments for each other's choice of clothing, a comment on how Jaune was still almost oblivious to the point of it being almost to much for the stoic ninja, and how Nora was planning on beating FLIT in pancake warfare, of which Lillith was suitably confused, but Flare didn't really feel particularly invested in the conversation, his attention mostly elsewhere.

"Flare?"

Flare snapped back from his dead stare, looking back at his partner. "Sorry, what?"

"I was asking if you wanted to go find Iren and Tera before anyone convinces you to prove you can dance," Lillith repeated, and Flare smiled.

"Sure," He replied, scratching at the back of his head.

"Something wrong?" Lillith asked, concern slightly audible in her voice.

"No… something just feels a little off, that's all. Nothing to worry about," Flare replied, although he wasn't sure he convinced anyone.

"Flare, stop looking so depressed and enjoy yourself, damn it!"

Flare once again snapped back, completely unaware that Lillith had led him over to Iren and Tera, the former standing there with a stupefied expression, and the latter berating the guardian.

"What? Oh, right, sorry. My bad," Flare said, a little thrown off.

The four stood there, observing the younger and older students all enjoying themselves, most unaware of the dangers that Remnant would face. The four that were aware were really trying, but standing around wasn't really making for a great way to do that.

"We should probably have at least one dance, right?" Lillith asked, to which Iren agreed wholeheartedly and Flare and Tera agreed reluctantly.

The more excitable of partners led the more reluctant partners out onto the dance floor as the song changed, a slower beat and more melodic tune filling the air as each duo separated from the other part of their team, slowly rotating to the music, slow steps gaining distance into the center of the field of dancing students.

After a few minutes of the slow dancing that had been happening, Flare and Lillith broke away, stepping off the dance floor and backing up to a wall, leaning against it.

Of course, this didn't mean that either of them had stopped paying attention to the going's on in the ballroom.

Weiss and Neptune had struck up a conversation, over by some chairs up against the wall, Nora and Ren were dancing together alongside Blake and Sun, and Jaune had just turned up in a dress.

Wait.

"Lillith, are you seeing what I'm seeing," Flare said, completely confused.

"I did think I was hallucinating," Lillith replied, nonplussed.

Jaune held out his hand, and took Pyrrha's.

"Please, please tell me this is real, Tera and I have so much money riding on it," Lillith said under her breath, making Flare choke on his breath.

When the first year partnership comprising of one of the school's best fighters and one of the school's worst fighters were joined by the other two members of JNPR into a full dance that looked almost as if it were prepared ahead of time, Flare and Lillith stared in amazement at the four.

"I don't think I can really comprehend what is happening right now," Flare said, astonished.

"Right there with you," Lillith agreed.

JNPR broke away, and Lillith smiled the most devious smile Flare had ever seen on her face.

"C'mon, team leader, don't want your dancing champion crown taken away from you by a first-year in a dress, do you?" Lillith asked, dragging him towards the crowd.

"What dancing champion crown?" Flare asked in confusion.

"Jaune! You can dance, Flare says he can dance, I suggest a dance-off!" Lillith called out, devious smile still on her face.

Jaune, not one to turn down a challenge where he actually had a chance to succeed, quickly accepted. "Sure thing, Flare. I'll go first, huh?"

Flare just nodded, having been thrown into what might be a rather humiliating situation if everyone else were to be believed.

Jaune quickly began a complicated yet understandable series of moves, consisting of a lot of classical maneuvers.

Flare waited, listening to the beat and watching as Jaune threw down, so to speak, consoling himself that he was able to remember what he and a few other guardians had done at the expense of the Vanguard.

A moment passed after Jaune finished, and Flare waited for the music to build to a certain point, one where he would have ample time to build up exactly what he would need to succeed.

The music took on a more electronic vibe, and Flare began, quickly angling forward as if he were a puppet half-suspended.

The music began to build, and Flare used that to his advantage, moving his head in a way that seemed almost unnatural.

His neck and shoulders followed that same theory, swiveling and pivoting in a way that was deceptive to the eye, before he righted, his arms moving his body around as if it was on a fixed point.

His arms went straight, perfectly horizontal, and they performed a wave that ended with a ninety degree turn, before reversing the wave.

Jaune took the challenge and replied in kind, a second series of traditional Valean dances with a modernised twist being performed.

By now the two leaders had built up a rather sizable audience, including many of the teachers, who had inevitably picked sides.

Flare only had one thing prepared, really, to counter what Jaune was doing, and he hoped that it was enough to finish, but he needed something before it.

Never a fan of many of the traditional Awoken dances, Flare had started with something an Exo had taught him, a joke between guardians that had caused the Vanguard to issue a ruling that no, it was not safe to ride a sparrow and dance at the same time, and no, guardians were not to do it, regardless of how cool it looked.

Flare decided on the second maneuver in his three-maneuver lineup, something that had been affectionately named the Circle Glide, a series of complicated foot movements that would spin the guardian in a circle.

After Jaune finished his second display of fancy footwork, Flare performed said Circle Glide, wowing the audience.

Jaune stepped up his game, realising that it wasn't enough to use his usual repertoire of dance moves. He began a much faster series of movements, similar enough to Valean dancing, but done in a tastefully redone way that the audience seemed to be loving.

Flare quickly decided on the third and final dance, something that he and a few other human guardians had taken to using to celebrate victories in the Crucible.

They hadn't a name for it, but so far only human guardians had been using it.

Flare began stepping back and forth on the spot, before ramping up further and further into a spin, before completely flipping onto his mechanical hand, holding himself aloft as he spun, before pulling back and landing, spinning on his knees.

Both dancers looked at each other, panting slightly from the physical exertion, before a sudden, surreal, almost impossible thought crossed their minds at the same time.

It was a miracle, something that should have been impossible, something unreal.

Both dancers closed in with each other, spun to their left, spun to their right, before extending an arm and grabbing each other by the hand and crouching low, using each other to support their weight.

They pulled back up and simultaneously gave a bow, before shaking each other's hand.

With a round of applause, Flare and Jaune retreated back to the safety of their teams, and Flare watched in horror as his team stared at him with a newfound respect.

"Still think I can't dance?" Flare asked, laughing.

The remaining members of FLIT were speechless, and Flare just kept chuckling to himself, grabbing his cup of punch of the table that the team had claimed and downing it in one gulp.

Dancing really built up a thirst, if he was being honest.

"I'm never going to doubt you again," Lillith said, as Flare took a seat.

"Where the hell did you learn that?" Tera asked, still partially in shock.

Flare looked around as the rest of his team took their seats. "Mostly it's just things we used to do on our downtime between missions. Used to piss off two of our three bosses all the time."

"And the third boss?" Iren asked, a smile on his face.

"Liked to think he was a good dancer," Flare replied, laughing.

The atmosphere was certainly more relaxed then it had been earlier, and Flare was glad for it, enjoying the rare opportunity to forget about the worries that plagued him, and just enjoy a night with his team and friends.

* * *

"It appears all the dancers have partners."

The voice of Emerald came from the balcony overlooking the dance floor, where she and Mercury were keeping an eye on the comings and goings of the ball attendees.

"How long do I have?" Cinder's voice over the communicator asked.

"We should probably be home by midnight to be safe," Mercury replied.

"I'll keep my eye on the clock," Cinder said through the communicator.

With a press of a button, Cinder shut off the comms, and began her run across the rooftops.

Unbeknownst to the black-clad figure of Cinder, Ruby had just left the ball, in an attempt to get some fresh air and space from the admittedly noisy environment of the cluster of students.

The scythe-wielder noticed the black-clad figure running and leaping across the rooftops nearby, and frowned, curious and cautious.

Ruby decided to follow, to see whether or not it was a false alarm.

By now, Cinder had closed in on the entrance to the CCT, and was sneaking up towards the door.

At the top of the stairs leading to the door was an Atlesian soldier, wearing the standard armour with a yellow trim. Typical security colours.

Cinder knew he wouldn't be a threat, as she crossed quickly just in the corner of his peripheral vision, effectively luring the investigating guard to his doom.

With some excellent stealth work, Cinder approached the guard from behind as he moved to investigate where he had last seen her, and with a quick strike, Cinder knocked the guard out, her blow completely bypassing his admittedly already abysmal aura and striking against the back of his neck, on a nerve cluster.

She caught the collapsing soldier and dragged him backwards, unceremoniously dumping into a hedge.

She walked in the door, into the main area, where two guards stood at the base of the elevator shaft, and two more patrolled the open floor.

"Excuse me, no one's allowed in this area," The first guard began as she walked inside, uncaringly.

When Cinder didn't stop, the guard reached for his pistol. "Stop!"

Cinder broke into a run, and the guard drew his pistol, firing three shots at where Cinder had been, but she was too nimble, the bullets smacking into the floor next to her as she grabbed his arm with one of hers, the other punching the guard in the face.

The other patrolling guard came running in, sword drawn, and Cinder waited until the right moment before extending her leg in a kick, whilst at the same time positioning the first guard's arm at the second, the first unwittingly pulling the trigger on his friend.

With a swift kick to the back of the leg, the first guard was knocked to his knees, and Cinder deftly flipped over the top of him, using the added momentum to fling him into the stair railing, which he thudded against with considerable force.

The other two guards quickly leapt down the stairs, swords drawn, and Cinder spun, her hands and suit lighting up with an ethereal flame as two short swords formed in her hands.

With a series of complicated and rapid moves, Cinder had downed the other two guards, a flipping axe kick knocking out the final of the four. Now all she had to do was wait for the elevator.

"Hey, do you have the Wi-Fi password?" One of the two guards in the elevator asked, looking to the other.

"It's Beacon, but replace the E with a three, and add a pound symbol to the end," The other guard answered.

The elevator doors hissed open, and both guards quickly reached for their weapons as Cinder waited patiently on the other side.

The two guards noticed the unconscious soldiers that littered the main floor as Cinder calmly walked inside the elevator, the doors closing behind her.

A swift elbow to the head and a simultaneous kick to the stomach severely weakened the two guards, and when Cinder grabbed one by the head and used it as a weapon to bash the other, they realised they were no match, promptly succumbing to unconsciousness as had the other five guards Cinder had gone up against so far.

The elevator rose up through the CCT in silence.

* * *

Cinder stepped across the entrance to the elevator, which had arrived at the top of the CCT.

"Hmm, that's handy," She remarked to herself, pocketing the guard's scroll.

She walked through the room, grabbing a chair and taking a seat in front of the central terminal.

She began inputting commands, and was silent for a few moments before Emerald reopened communications.

"A party guest is leaving."

Cinder sighed. "Which one?"

"Ironwood," Emerald replied.

"I guess the General's had enough fun for one night," Mercury remarked. "Should we intervene?"

Cinder watched the monitor as strings of data flashed through, before being replaced by a queen piece.

"No. We're done here," Cinder answered, stepping away from the terminal.

She made it all of about three steps before the elevator slid open.

Ruby stepped out, dress, heels and sniper scythe at the ready.

"Hello?" Ruby called out, before stumbling forwards, tripping.

"Is anyone there?" Ruby asked again.

There was a moment of silence before Cinder made a decision, stepping up from behind the terminal where she had been crouched out of sight.

"Excuse me… You know it's not a masquerade party, so why don't you take off that-"

Cinder didn't let Ruby finish, twisting a dust cartridge in her hand and forming a series of floating glass crystals, to which she sent flying towards the crimsonette.

Ruby stepped back and twirled her scythe, blocking the crystals, and opening fire.

Crescent Rose barked as the massive caliber sniper rounds exited the chamber, but Cinder simply held up her hand, the bullets vaporizing before they even got near her.

With a twirl, Cinder reformed her short swords, and Ruby dislodged Crescent Rose's blade from the floor, using a shot to propel her forwards into a downwards strike.

Cinder flipped backwards, using the momentum she'd built up to continue her flip into the air, bringing her blades together to form a bow, three glass arrows nocked and drawn.

Cinder released her grip on the arrows, and they flew at Ruby, impacting into the ground where she had been moments before, bursting into flame.

Ruby stumbled back from the force of the explosion, using the blade of her scythe to stabilize her, lodging it into the floor.

Both combatants looked at each other, and the elevator made it's telltale hissing noise, signalling a third member entering the upper floor of the CCT.

Ruby turned to look, as General Ironwood noticed her. She smiled and turned back to her enemy, but Cinder was nowhere to be found, out of sight.

* * *

Cinder walked through a series of doors, quickly running her hands over her clothing to change its form.

What had been tight-fitting stealth gear became a long sleeveless dress, and the mask she had worn lay forgotten on the ground, crushed underfoot by the guards that were attempting to follow her.

She was already in the next room, the peaceful music and the noise of talking students covering any possibility that she would be found.

"Ah, may I cut in?" Cinder asked, tapping Emerald on the shoulder as she danced with Mercury.

"Of course," Emerald replied, stepping away.

"And how has your night been?" Mercury asked, as Cinder wrapped an arm around him, the other on his chest.

"A little more… exciting than expected," Cinder replied.

"Should we be worried?" Mercury asked.

"Hardly. They'll be scratching their heads _long_ after we finish what we came here for," Cinder answered.

"So then what now?" Mercury asked.

"Enjoy the rest of the night. After all, it _is_ a party."

* * *

 **Well, hopefully that chapter lived up to the expectations that some had for it. I tried my best to include some dances from Destiny and D2, so there you go folks. Also, some bad guy POV, which sticks pretty closely with the actual episode, so that kind of keeps it based in the canon. I had strayed a little, and hadn't really focused on it, and for the sake of brevity I had skipped most of the canon content that didn't involve Flare or his team, so we missed the docks, and other parts.**

 **And, as always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	22. Chapter 22: Testing

"I've brought all of you here today, at the behest of Professor Ozpin, for one reason."

The crowd of first and second year students looked around the room, both at each other and the figure speaking.

The classroom that Professor Goodwitch usually occupied wasn't as crowded as usual, but the atmosphere was far more somber and tense than usual.

None of the students knew why they'd been brought here, and some were significantly more annoyed than others.

Flare stood at the bottom of the staggered tables, in the center of the sparring arena. To each side of him was Iren and Tera, and behind him stood Lillith, discreetly hiding scroll connecter that was linked to Flare's scroll, and by proxy, linked to Vier.

"That reason is I have been asked to train you in how to face a very specific enemy."

This perked the attention of every member of the audience.

"Before I introduce you to this, I must ask you something. If you do not feel like you are capable of the training I and the other three members of FLIT will put you through, leave now. No one will think less of you, that I will make sure of myself," Flare announced, looking around the room.

No one made to leave, but someone did speak up. Flare had expected her to.

"How do we know if we are capable or not if you haven't told us anything yet?" Weiss asked, a frown on her face.

"Unfortunately, you don't. I'm asking that you commit yourselves wholly now, because what I'm going to show you cannot leave this room, and I cannot trust any of you to fulfill that part of the deal if you aren't willing to commit to the rest of it," Flare said, as his eyes scanned over every member of the audience.

Weiss sat in silence next to the rest of her team, who were sat alongside the entirety of JNPR.

Flare noticed the torn look on Jaune's face, the younger leader torn in indecision.

"No one?" Flare asked.

Team CFVY sat in silent confidence, their faces giving nothing away. Team SSSN sat not too far away, two of the four members Flare recognized, the other two people he hadn't met yet.

Team CRDL sat up the back, a scowl on the leader's face, quite obviously directed at Flare.

Cerulea sat in silence, alone. As a reserve student, she had no official team.

"Last chance to walk away," Flare said.

Not a single person moved, and Flare noticed with satisfaction that Jaune's face set into hardened lines.

"Then we can begin. First off, let me tell you something. For those of you who have seen death, destruction and horror, this will be a shock to you. For those of you who haven't, prepare yourselves as best you can, and even that will do nothing to ease the sinking feeling that you will experience."

This was met with more tense silence.

"Secondly, I will not be telling you anything about the enemy just yet. We don't need to talk about that off the bat, and I have something far more pressing to address. I want to know where you all are in terms of combat skill."

This was met with shuffling, as every student readjusted their position, leaning forward instinctively.

"Starting us off, Ruby and Weiss. Get your weapons, you'll be fighting Iren and Tera," Flare said, to the surprise of the white and red members of Team RWBY.

The two did so with haste, as Flare backed up to stand next to his partner. She maintained a professional distance from him, although that was more from conscious effort.

"You and Ruby share quite a close friendship, Lillith. What do you think of their chances?" Flare asked, leaning closer to his partner so his quietend voice could be heard.

"Against Iren and Tera? Not particularly great. They've proven that they can handle themselves, sure, but Iren and Tera know how they fight, and how to counter them. Besides, we have the advantage of knowing the fights are going to happen ahead of time, and come up with strategies. They don't have that bonus," Lillith whispered, and Flare nodded in agreement.

Flare leaned back to his upright position as Lillith began the recording, the first two members of Team RWBY now facing the last two members of FLIT.

"Begin!" Flare called out.

Ruby shot off immediately, an immense burst of speed catapulting her towards Tera, her scythe outstretched and waiting.

Tera's eyes quickly flashed gold, and the two combatants locked blades, Tera's daggers grating against the massive blade of Ruby's scythe, the two straining against each other.

Iren didn't pay either of them any attention, focusing solely on his quarry, a particular white-haired heiress. He began closing the distance between the two, his greatsword at the ready.

Surprisingly, Weiss didn't look the slightest bit fazed as the much larger man closed in, simply content to bide her time.

Iren was cautious, as this was unexpected. He knew how she fought opponent, overwhelming them with either her superior swordsmanship in the form of her rapier, or her excellent control over dust, using her hereditary glyphs to bombard them with powerful attacks from range.

So far, Weiss had done neither. Iren approached, and yet she did nothing.

"Iren, behind!" The cry came from behind the largest member of FLIT, and Iren quickly reacted, spinning out of the way as Ruby came through, her scythe blade glinting in the light as it just missed Iren's head.

Weiss quickly sprung into action, a glyph forming beneath her feet as she lunged forward, her rapier point directed at the now vulnerable Iren, off balance from dodging Ruby.

She never contacted, a glowing-eyed Tera firing an arrow that impacted directly on the tip of her blade, and Weiss quickly redirected, using another glyph to angle herself away from the rebalanced Iren, as Ruby took her place, taking a swing at the tall man.

Weiss charged Tera using her acceleration from her glyphs, as Ruby's own semblance provided the acceleration needed to avoid Iren's sweeping attacks.

"You two can stop holding back now."

Those simple words shocked the audience, as a pair of grins formed on the two older combatants.

Tera's eyes began to glow a bright gold, as she sidestepped Weiss's charge in an instant, the dagger-wielder's hands around Weiss's sword arm. Within a single moment, Weiss went from a pointed projectile to a body lying on the floor, Tera having used her own momentum to slam her into the ground. The simple ceasing of acceleration had both winded Weiss, and dealt a severe blow to her aura, the rapier-wielding heiress now quite significantly into the yellow.

Ruby hadn't fared much better, the scythe wielder having her weapon almost immediately knocked out of her grip as she locked blades with the significantly stronger Iren, as he split his sword into two and forced her to disengage. Unfortunately for the crimsonette, one of Iren's two longswords had pinned her scythe, and Ruby was nowhere near strong enough to free it.

Now unarmed, with her weakened partner at the mercy of her other foe, Ruby was at a significant disadvantage, and Iren knew it, choosing to connect his swords back together, using his free hand to turn Crescent Rose back into its compact form, where he stowed it on his back.

Ruby turned to look for her partner, only to notice the white-haired girl being flung out of the arena.

"Enough. Ruby, you and Weiss lost. Help her back to her seat," Flare said, stepping into the ring. "You did well, considering you were the first to fight. That surprise won't work on any other team, so consider yourselves lucky that that is the main reason you lost."

"Well, you've seen the level of combat we expect you to reach, surpass, or at least come close," Flare said, looking at the stunned audience. "Yang, Blake. You'll be facing Lillith and I."

The two in question shared a glance, before stepping into the arena, where the leader of FLIT and his partner waited.

Flare stepped close to his partner, and leant close. "Ready?"

"Always," Lillith replied, her weapons in hand.

Flare straightened out, and faced his opponents. "Whenever you girls are ready."

Yang flicked her wrists, Ember Celica forming around them. Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud, and readied herself.

A moment passed as Flare donned his helmet, before Yang shot forward, fist in position to strike Flare.

He didn't allow it, swaying out of the way and using Yang's own momentum against her, a flurry of quick strikes to her chest and legs barely denting her aura. Another punch, and Yang once again missed as Flare quickly rolled underneath her strike, delivering a solid uppercut to her abdomen, forcing some air out. It wasn't strong enough to wind the brawler, nor was it enough to do much to her aura, but it was enough to begin to trigger her semblance.

Blake and Lillith were engaged in a rapid fire trade of bullets, Lillith using her smaller figure and superior hailfire advantage to bombard the taller faunus, as Blake made gratuitous usage of her semblance to avoid the veritable stream of bullets that Lillith fired, using the few spare moments to return shots, Gambol Shroud spitting out empty shells as the two traded bullets, both losing aura at a rather consistent rate.

Meanwhile, Flare met Yang's punch with surprising force, their fists colliding hard enough to send both skidding backwards.

Metal shards scattered across the distance the two had been flung, the outer casing on Flare's mechanical prosthetic having been shredded from the impact.

"Wow, stronger than you look," Flare muttered, shaking his arm to free any loose metal.

Yang simply smirked, then followed it up with a frown as the guardian disappeared from view.

A kick to the small of the back made Yang realise where Flare had disappeared to, even as she was flung towards the edge of the arena.

That kick was what Flare had been building to, the power behind it significantly more than any of his punches had delivered, save the last one.

Yang quickly spun to her feet, and assumed a much more wary blocking position, arms up and waiting for the guardian's next move.

Flare didn't make one, opting to take a strategy employed in the last fight and blink behind Blake, wrapping an arm around her neck and tensing, cutting off the blood supply to her brain. Aura or no, this was a showstopper.

Lillith quickly retargeted, reloading and opening fire on Yang.

Blake wasn't one to give up so easily, struggling vehemently against the chokehold, but it was to no avail, Flare's mechanical arm proving to be an immovable object as she slowly but surely felt consciousness slip away.

Yang wasn't going to let her partner be taken out so easily, and she barreled through Lillith's hail of bullets, tanking the damage to her aura and shoving the smaller girl out of the way as she closed in on her target, who was holding her partner.

Yang fired an incendiary shell, and the explosion behind Flare was enough to knock him to the side, his grip on Blake loosening slightly, and the mildly delirious Blake was coherent enough to escape his grasp, a clone appearing in her wake.

Flare wasn't going to leave this fight without at least drawing a weapon, Yang reasoned, and was promptly proven correct as a knife exited the folds of his cloak and entered a tight grip in Flare's off-hand.

Blake was out, still barely conscious, Lillith had already gotten back up, her weapons in their half-chakram form, and Flare was approaching.

She really had only one option.

With a cry, Yang struck the floor, the impact sending waves of flame rolling off the combatants. Blake was left unharmed, having been the farthest from the blast zone, but Lillith and Flare were much closer, and the two tanked the heat. Yang, eyes glowing an ominous red, flickered her gaze up to the display that showed aura levels.

Only one was decreasing at a steady rate.

Lillith quickly left the hot-zone, so to speak, but Flare stood amongst the flames with a tilt in his helmet and a glowing hand cannon in his hand.

"You can't take a hit from this, Yang! Surrender!" He cried out, aiming the flaming weapon at the flaming brawler.

Yang stood her ground, waiting and watching as the guardian aimed his weapon. Her aura was high enough, she had faith in herself.

Flare pulled the trigger.

* * *

"-ng! Yang!"

The blonde brawler opened her eyes to a crowd of people standing over the top of her. She sat up, her head spinning.

"Good to see you are unharmed, Yang."

She looked around, noticing that she was back up in the stands, her team crowding around her. Flare stood in the arena, looking a little tired, but otherwise unharmed. Lillith stood close by to him, one hand rubbing the other wrist.

After all this, Yang noticed her throbbing headache. "Ow."

"I'm impressed. You took a pretty solid hit, but I'm certain you're still able to focus, right?"

Yang nodded, and immediately regretted doing so, the motion compounding her headache into a series of metaphorical stabs of pain.

"Good. Now, I would ask if anyone wanted to volunteer, but I doubt any of you really do, so I'll pick once again," Flare said, before lapsing into thought.

A few seconds of silence passed, before the guardian made up his mind.

"Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren. You'll be facing me, no holds barred."

Twenty-four faces stared at Flare as he stood, waiting.

"Are you sure?" Jaune asked, surprise on his face.

"Why, Jaune, feel confidant to take me on alone?" Flare said with a laugh.

"No, never. It's just…" Jaune trailed off, a glance to where the resident undefeated Mistral champion sat.

"I understand your point, and I don't really care," Flare replied.

Jaune gave a shrug, following his team into the arena.

The four of them armed themselves, and Flare prepared himself, breathing in and out slowly.

"Begin!" Lillith called out, and Flare snapped his eyes open, not giving the four time to be properly prepared for his assault as he blinked into the air, Infinite Solution in hand.

His weapon flowed almost like a liquid as it took the shape of a familiar weapon, one that he had spent a significant amount of time acquiring, and much less time melding with Infinite Solution.

Infinite Gjallarhorn formed, and Flare squeezed the trigger, raining a hailfire of smaller missiles down onto the still off-guard figures of Team JNPR.

The four split up quickly, expecting the missiles to detonate on the ground where they had been standing, but they were soon surprised by the homing aspect of Gjallarhorn's micro-projectiles, the small missiles tracking and following each member of JNPR.

Jaune raised his shield in defense, Ren opened fire on his pursuing projectile, Nora readied to swing her hammer at it, and Pyrrha stood, shield in the ready position, one hand outstretched.

Unbeknownst to anyone other than FLIT, Flare had spoken at length with Professor Goodwitch before today, finding out all the intricate details and notes about each individual, and he had prepared a strategy to deal with each of them.

Ruby was fast, but without her scythe, she posed no threat. Weiss was strong in both close and ranged combat, but she was easy to counter by turning the battle into one of attrition.

Blake was light on her feet and excellent at dodging attacks, but she couldn't focus on too many things at once, and keeping her busy would leave her vulnerable to other attacks. Yang, unlike Weiss, was most effective at battles of attrition, but with her semblance granting her that advantage, it also came with a cost, as she lacked full control over her anger, leaving her vulnerable to making mistakes.

Flare had read up on RWBY and JNPR, along with every other member of the audience, and whilst some strategies had proven useful, others had become either unnecessary or unfeasible.

Jaune was physically weaker than most, if not all of the other students, or at least he had been when he first arrived. Now he'd been secretly training with Pyrrha, and he was at least somewhat capable of killing Grimm, but his tactical mindset had proven he was effective a leader. Flare didn't need a strategy to take him down, but he was a priority.

Ren fought fast and had a precise control over his aura, and fought most similarly to Lillith, so Flare was well equipped to take him down, even if it was a matter of leaving him the last one standing.

Nora was an enigma, seemingly random at times, and Flare hadn't really been able to pin her down as any specific kind of fighter. Fast at times, she hit as hard as a truck with her hammer, and seemed like a contradiction to her typeset of hammer-maiden. According to a passing note from Professor Port, Flare was to never, under no circumstances, hit her with any arc attacks. That would just end worse for him than her. Flare didn't receive any notification as to why that was, but he trusted the advice all the same.

Pyrrha was the real danger of the team, and a fighter that Flare was both dreading and anticipating fighting. A semblance that allowed control over polarity, coupled with intensely skilled close combat, and an accuracy with her rifle that rivalled some of the best shooters Flare had the pleasure of working alongside, she was a powerhouse, a sprinter, a marathon runner and a tank all rolled into one.

Flare landed as the homing missiles attempted to strike their targets.

Jaune took the hit directly, his massive pool of aura tanking the hit.

Ren shot the projectile down, the splash from the detonation causing him to stagger back slightly.

Nora did the unthinkable, simply hitting the projectile so hard the tip couldn't even detonate, the now inert explosive thudding into the ground like a useless lump of metal.

Pyrrha used her semblance to redirect the rocket at Flare.

This was what he expected, a no-holds-barred match, and Pyrrha using her semblance in such a direct way was testament to how seriously she was taking this.

Flare blinked out of the way as the missile impacted, blowing up into a plume of flame and smoke.

He stared down JNPR, before changing the form of Infinite Solution, Minimal Effort's sheath being revealed inside the machination that was his weapon.

His hand stretched out and gripped the handle, the hilt of the blade exiting the sheath quickly followed by the blade.

Nora, not one to be patient, quickly charged in, her hammer in a ready position.

It was time to enact step two.

Flare stepped forward, and Nora swung, hitting thin air as Flare blinked, appearing behind the amatuer swordsman, giving him a push towards the rest of his team, before delivering a series of slashes, Minimal Effort hitting hard enough to break bones if Jaune lacked aura.

Jaune raised his shield in time to block the fourth hit, but already his aura was down a quarter from the powerful attacks, and even as he stumbled back, Pyrrha moved in, engaging Flare in a flurry of sword strikes.

Flare parried them, but was pushed onto the back foot as his swordsmanship paled in comparison to the champion's.

Flare took a hit, Pyrrha's xiphos striking his shoulder, and Flare quickly stepped back, as Pyrrha disengaged smartly. She was confident in her ability to take him in an even fight, and felt no need to overextend herself.

Flare was both annoyed and impressed, the champion proving exactly why she was given the title 'Invincible Girl'.

Ren opened fire on Flare's right, and a whistling through the air signified that Nora had fired a grenade his direction as well.

Flare rolled out of the way as the grenade hit the ground, igniting in a plume of pink smoke, and Flare used the smoke as a distraction to blink to the other side of the arena.

Minimal Effort was sheathed, and Infinite Solution took its auto-rifle form, Flare pulling down on the trigger and opening fire on Jaune.

He raised his shield too late, and was hit by a spray of bullets, but Flare had already retargeted, aiming away at Ren and Nora. Pyrrha would block the bullets with her shield anyway, Flare reasoned.

A crack sounded Pyrrha's response to Flare opening fire, and Flare quickly evaded the bullet fired from Miló's rifle form, the round pockmarking the ground next to him.

Another crack signified a second shot, and Flare rolled, coming up into a crouch, Infinite Solution in the form of a sniper rifle, and the guardian quickly aimed and pulled the trigger, hitting Jaune in the unguarded leg.

A second shot followed the first as Jaune hit the ground from the force, the bullet ringing out as the metal round made contact with Nora's hammer.

A quick glance up to the corner of his HUD inside his helmet, and Flare noted the aura levels of the team of opponents he faced.

Jaune was sitting at a solid forty-five, Pyrrha at ninety-eight, Nora at one hundred and Ren at ninety-five. So far, this was a battle of attrition if there ever was one, and Flare was starting to get a little nervous. Maybe he'd bitten off more than he could chew, maybe not.

Honestly, it was time he pulled out the big guns, so to speak.

* * *

It took a moment, as difficult as remembering something you hadn't thought about for years, and for Flare it had been years.

He drew his aura inwards, as he did, but it was different. Darker, deeper, and far more purple.

He raised his hand as he leaped into the air, and in his hand formed a bow, entirely made of dark swirling purple energy.

He drew back on the bowstring, an arrow of purple energy forming as he did so, and he released his grip, the long projectile trailing through the air as it headed towards Jaune's shield.

JNPR had not been idle whilst Flare had leapt, and the four had closed in with their shielding teammates at the front, to take the brunt of what Flare had planned to unleash on them.

It was a shame they didn't know what was coming, because if they did they would've split apart as fast as they could.

The arrow impacted, but where Jaune expected resistance, he received nothing.

What did happen was a ball of glowing purple energy attached itself to his shield, lunging tendrils of purple attaching themselves to each of his teammates.

Flare fired two more arrows before the bow dispelled itself, and the two balls that formed on impact also latched to JNPR, effectively anchoring them, and draining their aura slowly.

It made them feel sluggish, off-balance, and sapped of their stamina. It was when Flare brought Minimal Effort out of his sheath and stepped close, slashing away at whoever accidentally ventured too close, that JNPR began to buckle under the empirical strength that the guardian possessed.

Alone, weapon on weapon, Flare was no match for Pyrrha, and maybe Nora. Ren fought similarly to how he did, so he could counter him reasonably effectively, and Jaune was still a learning fighter without many redeeming physical attributes, aside from his immense aura.

With his guardian training, his hunter class, and years of experience however?

Flare was in his element. He relished the battle, even as Jaune finally went down, Ren quick to follow.

They couldn't block properly, couldn't dodge fast enough, and they were slowing.

The spheres of void energy disappeared.

Pyrrha bashed Flare's sword out of the way as he extended himself in a downwards strike, and she lunged forward, a fury in her eyes unlike anything before.

She would not be defeated, not by some paltry trick. Especially not after Jaune and Ren had been taken down on her watch.

She and Jaune were supposed to be the bulwark of the team, the defense, but she more so.

She shouldered such a burden, but she would never call it that.

It was her team, her family. They would never be a burden in her eyes.

Flare disengaged after taking the rather significant hit to his side, leaping back out of the way of the suddenly much more energetic, and furious, Nora, who slammed her hammer into the ground where he had just been standing.

The two girls of JNPR faced against Flare, and even the guardian had to pale at the sight of the furious females.

He had hit their respective partners, after all, and it was famously known about their connections to each other. Lillith and he shared a similar relationship, if in it's later stages.

He almost turned to look at his partner, a break in his concentration, but he knew it would be fatal, so to speak.

Although, the looks that Pyrrha and Nora were giving him gave him the impression that maybe fatal wasn't too far a stretch.

The two launched towards him, and Flare backed up a step, pulling a cylindrical object from his cloak and pulling the pin, tossing it in an arc towards the two charging huntresses-in-training.

Pyrrha didn't take her eyes off of Flare, but Nora flickered her vision upwards.

It didn't make much of a difference as the flashbang went off, both girls disoriented, and Flare blinked in between them, knives in each hand.

A moment passed, and both girls felt sharp impacts on their undefended sides, before they blindly swung at the space.

Expecting to at least strike something, both were thrown off balance, as Flare reappeared on the other side of the battlefield.

Nora, frustrated, leaped towards him with a grenade-assisted launch, swinging her hammer in a powerful downwards arc.

Flare simply jumped towards her, meeting the girl in the air, grabbing her hammer, and using their opposing momentum to rip the hammer out of the valkyrie's hands.

Landing, Flare threw the weapon out-of-bounds, and Nora paled. She wasn't trained in hand to hand, all she could do was hit almost as hard as Yang. Considering how that'd faired for the blonde in the past, Nora resolved herself to attempt something different.

Flare wasn't done with his arsenal variety, Infinite Solution forming a small caliber sub-machine gun, the weapon suddenly much more compact.

Pyrrha moved closer, slower than the reckless charge that Nora had committed herself to, but fast enough to close the distance relatively quickly on their admittedly small battlefield.

Flare took a look at the aura meter on the screen as Pyrrha did the same, using the momentary lull in action to re-situate themselves.

What surprised both was the levels of aura.

Nora sat at fourteen percent, Pyrrha sat at forty-three, and Flare sat at fifty-one. It was a considerably small amount, made especially shocking considering what had happened up to this point.

Flare was a little chuffed with himself, honestly. He'd gone into this expecting to be beaten, but still prove a point, but here he was, almost level with his enemy team.

Pyrrha didn't leave Flare much more time for introspection as she fired a test shot out, the bullet whizzing almost half an inch to the side of Flare's head, impacting against the wall behind.

Flare fired a burst at Pyrrha, who blocked the small caliber rounds with her shield, and the two swapped their weapons into their melee modes, Infinite Solution forming into Minimal Effort, and Miló forming it's xiphos.

The two closed in, blades clashing, but Pyrrha had the advantage, her blade just a bit faster, her parries a tad better, and her counter-strikes a slightly more effective.

She wasn't using her semblance on Flare's armour, considering the majority of it was densely woven synthetic material, but she was using it on his blade, and Flare was suffering all the more for it. What would be a downward strike would miss by a millimetre, a lunging strike off angle, deflecting off Pyrrha's shield.

Flare was starting to get annoyed as the two engaged, the disparity in aura quickly becoming a void topic as Pyrrha continuously proved her incredible swordsmanship.

Flare swapped his grip on Minimal Effort from a two-handed grip to a one-handed grip, reaching his newly freed hand down to the sheath that was Infinite Solution, hoping, willing, praying that the weapon would be able to do what he needed it to.

It did, all the gods bless his weapon, forming a shotgun. He spun it in his hand, bringing it up and firing as he struck with Minimal Effort.

The attack overwhelmed Pyrrha's defense, the invincible girl not having expected an attack of this kind, the buckshot clipping her side where it didn't bounce off her shield.

That kind of attack was only going to work once, and Infinite Solution returned to its existence as a sheath, and Flare disengaged, leaping back from the xiphos' range.

It was a close fight, so far, and Pyrrha wasn't about to let Flare get away, throwing her shield at Flare.

He saw it coming, and quickly sidestepped it, where it thudded into the ground just behind him.

Pyrrha, now armed with just Miló, strode towards Flare, who waited.

He was trying to figure out a plan of action, mostly stalling, but Pyrrha wasn't having any of it.

Well, she didn't have a shield anymore.

Flare sheathed Minimal Effort, and Pyrrha began sprinting towards Flare as fast as she could run, realising what he was planning at the moment he decided to do it.

Infinite Solution, shotgun form, raised in Flare's hands, and he pulled the trigger. Pyrrha tried her best to sidestep, even as she practically collided with Flare and the burst of buckshot, and the two were forced into an even closer quarters fight as the two stumbled for footing.

Flare blinked, but found himself standing in the same spot as Pyrrha focused her semblance on his helmet, and he pulled a knife free of his cloak only to be knocked backwards by a strike from the hilt of Miló, but he was already spinning around, lining up a shot at Pyrrha who was already out of the way, using Miló to shove the barrel out of alignment, but Flare was close enough to use the buttstock of Infinite Solution to parry the follow up strike, but-

The combat ceased as Flare felt a thudding impact in his back, sending him skidding.

He whirled around as soon as he was able, and it was his obsession of combat once again clouding his judgement, as Nora stood next to her friend and teammate, Akoúo̱ in hand.

His aura was almost at ten percent, but so was Nora and Pyrrha's. This was potentially the closest spar he'd had in a long time.

It was time to end it, and thankfully, he had just what he needed waiting in his hand.

He threw the grenade, and it arced close to Pyrrha, but she held up her hand, using the last of her aura to redirect the grenade.

It wasn't enough, the siren sounding Pyrrha out, and Nora cowered behind Pyrrha's shield as the grenade went off.

The ground burst into flame, and Flare blinked behind Nora, a quick jab to the back kicking her under the minimum aura limit.

The fight was over.

Flare was the victor.

Barely.

Dust he was going to be sore after this.

* * *

 **There we go everyone, sorry about a lack of updates to GoaNL lately, other stories and Uni are keeping me pretty busy. This is still the priority, and I was doing some reminiscing. I've been working on this since August last year, and for me this is the longest I've ever worked on _anything ever_. Thank you all for your support, your criticism, everything. Truly, I've enjoyed every moment, and every bit of feedback, favourite or follow is enough to make my day so much better. I hope you all enjoy your days, nights, wherever you are, whatever is happening.**

 **And, as always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	23. Chapter 23: Uses

**I'm alive! On to the chapter!**

* * *

"CFVY, I don't feel the need to test you, as I've seen what you can do, and your mission records, especially from the one you got back from yesterday, show me enough," Flare said, looking to the team as he spoke.

He switched targets. "SSSN, Haven sent me your records, and I've heard enough about Sun and Neptune to know you can most likely handle the training."

"Cerulea, Tera vouched for your skill," Flare said to the lone girl, who nodded a thanks to her sister.

"CRDL. I have the most doubts about you, compared to any others. You've proven yourselves to be antagonizers, and Pyrrha beat your entire team solo. I was hesitant about including you, but I feel as if it might help you realise that your enemy is not us, and to maybe actually see about becoming Huntsman, instead of failing the academy and dying to the first serious Grimm you face. I'd fight you, but Pyrrha, once again, proved what level of skill the four of you sit at," Flare said, addressing the angry group of four that sat up the far back of the room.

A beat passed, where Flare remained silent, obviously thinking.

"I think it's about time I told you about the enemy we will be preparing you to face."

A look of interest passed over the audience, and not even the scowls of CRDL could dampen it.

"Firstly, can someone tell me what the Grimm are?" Flare asked.

A hand shot up, and no one was surprised to see it was Weiss's. "A Grimm is a monster without a soul, that feeds on negativity. It needs no sustenance, and appears to only hunt negativity for the sake of it."

"Correct, mostly. Does anyone know why the Grimm don't linger after they have been killed?" Flare questioned the audience.

This time no one raised their hands, looking confused.

"As far as I can tell, it is because the Grimm are composed completely of Darkness. I expect that none of you know what the Darkness is, and I don't know much about it. What I do know, however, is that it is dangerous," Flare answered his own question.

"Our new enemy is something that I hope none of you ever have to face," Flare said, stepping back to the edge of the arena, where Lillith was ready with the holographic projector, Vier discreetly ready to project whatever image that Flare requested.

"The Hive," Flare said, and Vier dramatically presented an image of a Thrall.

The gasps and shocked stares didn't surprise Flare.

"Creatures that worship the darkness, crawling up from the bowels of Remnant to kill. That's what we're facing, in numbers possibly equal to the Grimm," Flare explained, as the image changed to an Acolyte, its menacing pose making the audience wince.

"They're smart enough to communicate, to follow orders, to fight like an army, if it comes to it. They kill, kill and kill, eliminating light, the soul, anything that disagrees with them. They don't stop."

Flare watched his audience, as the picture behind him changed to a Knight, its hulking figure making the guardian seem all the more smaller.

"Team FLIT and I will be training you on how to fight the Hive, and additional training to get you up to speed. I won't lie to you, I'm not a hundred percent sure that I want to drag all of you into an additional conflict, as the Grimm presence is ramping up in the wilds, especially considering what CFVY faced on their last mission, but Ozpin has given me a choice, and I'm not going to watch as you delve into the darkness unprepared for it. I can't let you die because of _my_ fear. The Hive will surface, sooner or later, and all of us are in agreement that you need to be prepared," Flare said, staring into the eyes of his captivated audience.

"Or this is what you'll have to face, with nothing but your Grimm-fighting experience." Flare stepped back as he finished the sentence, the image changing from a Knight to a whole list of Hive, from Thrall to Wizard, and all inbetween. It was a frightening concept, going into a fight with creatures like that blind.

The image faded, and Flare stepped back into the foreground, as the audience recovered.

"So. Let's get started. Lillith, Iren, Tera, you three explain the Hive variants. I have an emergency meeting with Ozpin, and I assume you can handle it?" Flare said, turning to his team.

Three nods from his teammates arrived, including a thumbs up from his partner, and Flare began making his way out of the room.

"Vier, stay behind, help out discreetly," Flare ordered into the link. Vier gave him an affirmative response, and Flare made his way out of the classroom, once again heading for the elevator to Ozpin's office.

It was beginning to become a startlingly regular occurrence, at this point.

* * *

Flare stepped into Ozpin's office, and watched as three faces turned to face him.

"Ozpin, Ironwood, Goodwitch. What can I do for you?"

"How are the students dealing with the reveal?" Ozpin asked, reclining ever so slightly into his chair.

He wanted to play a game of verbal wits, it seemed, avoiding the topic. Flare was game.

"Startled, but handling it well. We haven't gone into much detail yet, but that will be happening sooner than later. Was that what you wished to speak about, or was there something more… pressing?"

Flare watched as the expressions in the room changed. Ozpin tensed almost so slightly to be unnoticable were Flare not watching him with a trained eye, Glynda silently huffed, and Ironwood glared quite noticeably at the Guardian.

"Recently, and by recently I mean the night of the dance, Beacon CCT was infiltrated by an unknown assailant, whose purpose was also unknown. Thanks to the work of our very own Ruby Rose, the assailant was stopped, but unfortunately managed to make an escape." Ozpin sipped his coffee, eyes peering through glasses at the Guardian, who was actually surprised.

"I'm astounded I wasn't made aware of this sooner, Professor. Do we have a description, or an idea as to what they were after?" Flare asked.

Ozpin looked to Ironwood, and Flare's gaze quickly followed as the General began speaking.

"I only had the slightest glimpse, but from Ms Rose's description, collaborated by Glynda, it would appear to be the very same flame-slinging assailant as you faced in the bullhead, at the robbery of From Dust Till Dawn. As for their objective, I believe that we managed to stop them before they managed to complete whatever it was that they were attempting to do, whether it be sabotage or steal information."

Flare stared at Ironwood for a long moment. "If they stole information, how would you know if they'd gotten it or not?" He asked.

The General looked nonplussed for a second, before regaining his bearings, confidently stating "It would have taken longer than they had been in the building to successfully infiltrate our systems."

"But infiltrating the actual building wasn't something you could stop."

Ironwood stepped forward, but Ozpin threw a hand up, halting both the progress of the General and Flare's next arguably witty remark.

"Enough, both of you. I understand that both of you have… _lesser_ opinions of each other, but allow your reputations to speak for yourselves, rather than your personal opinions. We are here to discuss a threat, not argue over what happened. As is, Mr Archid, James was the only witness aside from Ms Rose, and we have already heard from her. You may perform your own interrogation, if you wish, but I doubt anything she has to say will be new to us. Thanks to Ms Rose, we have crucial information to act on, but it's a matter of how we should act on it that we must speak about."

Flare and Ironwood both held their tongues, the Headmaster nodding to himself.

"I would ask FLIT to investigate up north, in Mountain Glenn, but I have a feeling that would not sit well with who brought us the information, and we might have a team of stowaways on our hands. Team RWBY, if nothing else, are certainly persistent. I have no doubt that Team RWBY will be doing everything they can to make their way to Mountain Glenn, and I have a plan in mind to make sure they remain as safe as possible, but we must discuss what it is you plan to do," Ozpin spoke, and Flare realised that objecting to his plan would merely meet with a vague dismissal.

"I…" Flare began, before stalling, mind a swirl. "The Hive are still a threat, and whilst this new attack is certainly concerning, we still have plenty more to deal with. I'm trusting you, and trusting that you have a plan in mind, so I won't worry about Team RWBY, but that still leaves quite a few pieces on the board, to borrow a chess metaphor. We have the black masked team, the White Fang, Roman, various Grimm, the Hive, the mysterious woman, and a few other lesser threats to deal with, and I am still in the dark about their connections to each other." Flare froze, his train of thought pausing. "Team FLIT will be investigating the black masked team. Do we have anything new on them?"

Ozpin's face made an imperceptible change, almost a frown, as he looked to the side, at Ironwood.

"I've had some of my specialists working on it, and so far, only one lead. We have managed to identify one of the masked four." The General brought out his scroll, looking at the screen as he read the information. "Regis, last name unknown, a Vacuon mercenary, thirty-two years of age. Been in the game a long time for a mercenary, and is skilled in countering almost all forms of hand to hand. Atlas has worked with him in the past, but his allegiance is to whoever pays the most. He has no morals, no alias', and no empathy. Fights with a longsword-cross-marksman rifle, and oddly at that."

Flare perked up at that last part. "I can confirm that intel, we fought someone like that at the White Fang outpost. What's the lead?"

"A man of similar descent and age was recently seen in Vale's upper area, although that sighting is over a week old, and it could just be a Vacuon tourist." Ironwood frowned as he placed his scroll back in his pocket.

"Not much to go off of, but I'll see what I can turn up. Not exactly my speciality, but I'll take care of it. Is that all, Headmaster?" Flare asked.

"I believe so, Mr Archid. Good luck." Ozpin sipped his coffee as the Guardian turned on his heel, with a nod to the other two occupants of the room, and left, the elevator doors sliding closed behind him.

Where to start.

* * *

"Interesting…"

"Anything I should be concerned about?"

"Normally, I wouldn't answer such a question, but for once, it does actually concern you, Onyx. Although, it doesn't concern you directly. Regis?"

"Yes Cinder?" Regis asked, looking up from the table where he was tinkering, his weapon in parts, the upper receiver in his hand, half assembled.

"It would appear our friends in the Atlesian Military have stumbled across you," Cinder answered, her legs crossed on the seat on which she sat in.

Regis frowned, quickly setting about rebuilding his weapon.

Cinder held up a hand to stop him. "This is an opportunity, Regis, not a problem. Lay a trap, and make sure you kill whoever comes. We can't have them stumbling across what we have planned, but do not be afraid to attract attention to yourselves. There is a small chance anyone will figure out we are connected regardless."

Regis looked to Onyx, and Onyx gave a smirk, grabbing his helmet from the table next to him. "With pleasure, Cinder. Regis, finish up, and grab Riot. I'll fetch Haunt, and we'll get prepped."

Regis nodded, quickly assembling his weapon.

Onyx left the room, and soon Cinder followed, the woman swaying ever so slightly as she walked. It wouldn't do much to affect the grizzled mercenary, of course, he'd seen plenty of women with that kind of appeal before, and none of them were safe to approach. If he wanted to become roast Vacuon, he could ask, but he wasn't one to ask.

Regis was the one to be asked. He only did things for money.

He was a mercenary, after all.

His sword made a sound as the last piece was locked into place, and Regis stepped away from the table, weapon sheathed, and he walked towards the other door, helmet in hand.

The next room was dark, but that was quickly dissuaded by the flick of the light switch.

"Riot, get up. We've got a job."

The bear of a man that lay in the far bed made no movement.

"Riot," Regis repeated, thudding his fist against the doorframe.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard ya'. Gimme a sec." Riot replied, muffled by something.

The man, Riot, righted himself, facing the passive-faced Regis, stood waiting at the door.

The woman behind Riot, now noticeable due to the man moving out of the way, stirred as well, obviously in a deeper sleep than Riot had been.

"Mmwha?" She asked, pushing blonde hair out of her face. She noticed the other man in the doorway, and quickly grabbed the bedsheet, covering her voluptuousness with a startled yelp.

Regis sighed. "Riot, we can't have people in here. You know what Cinder would do to you if she realised that you were jeopardizing the mission.

"Yeah, whatever. I'll take care of it," Riot replied, turning to face the woman.

"Look love, you were a good lay, I'll give you that, but I can't have you prattling on to your friends. Sorry 'bout this."

The woman could barely react as the meaty hands she'd enjoyed that night became something she would not enjoy in this context, as they wrapped around her throat, cutting off any air.

"Hrrk!" She moaned and grunted, struggling, but Riot simply maintained his hold, not budging an inch as he slowly but surely applied a vice-like pressure.

A few moments of struggle passed, before an audible snap was heard.

"There, taken care of."

Regis just sighed, placing his helmet on his head. "What a waste."

"She had her use," Riot replied, dressing himself.

"Everyone does, Riot. Everyone does."

* * *

 **Well, not the longest chapter, but it's really all I had time to write over a month, because Uni has me under the hammer with work. I'm still going strong, and there should be more updates, but they won't be rapid. Apologies for that. For all the reviews recently, thanks for the feedback, especially the positive stuff!**

 **Another thing: Over 100 Favs and 150 Follows! That's incredible! Thank you all for this, I really appreciate it, and I hope I live up to your expectations!**

 **And, as always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	24. Chapter 24: Distraction

**Short chapter tonight, a little bit of a setup chapter.**

* * *

"This wasn't what I thought you meant when you asked if I wanted to go on a date," Lillith remarked, strolling alongside Flare in the downtown district of Vale, the afternoon sunlight filtering through the sparse cloud cover.

"Free time's a little difficult for both of us at the moment, so I figured we could enjoy ourselves while we work," Flare replied, a cheeky smirk on his face, even as he kept an eye out for anything suspicious.

"I'm always up for a trip to Vale, but having your attention split between our conversations and our surroundings doesn't make for a brilliant feeling, Flare," Lillith responded, a dead stare at her partner.

"You and I both know we can't afford to slack off, Lillith. I'd like not too either, but the choice was made for me. At least we aren't on another mission, getting exhausted and injured again, because that seems to be a common theme for us."

Lillith cracked a smile at that. "True. We really haven't got the greatest track record for that, do we?"

"I'm walking, talking proof that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, though, so I'm not a hundred percent sure we should be so concerned with problems like that," Flare remarked, the two of them stepping inside a cafe nearby the sighting of the unidentified individual Ironwood had spoken of.

"You lost your arm, Flare. And got stabbed. Multiple times."

"Touché."

The couple took their seats at a booth next to the window outlooking the boulevarde, the busy Valean streets maintaining their reputation of being a part of a bustling city, even if it was only the third most populated kingdom, only just ahead of Vacuo. Of course, Mistral and Atlas were far larger, and Vacuo's census covered only as many citizens as could be bothered to actually list themselves to whatever form of government existed, so it wasn't the most accurate summary of population.

"So, I know we're hunting those Black Masks, for which we need a better name, but what are the two of us actually going to _do_ if we find them. They tore through us last time, and none of us even know how they got the jump on us the first time. What's stopping them from just doing the same thing again?" Lillith asked, as she looked over the little menu that was on the table in front of her.

"I don't know how they did it either, but there are two significant things we have this time. First, we're going after them, not the other way around, and we aren't engaging. We're on recon, Lillith, for reconnaissance, you know, the whole 'spy on them and not fight them 'cause we'll be destroyed in a four on two fight' thing." Flare picked over his own menu, peeking over the top to raise an eyebrow at his partner.

"Yeah, yeah, who do you think I am, Tera? I'm not the one you need to be worried about charging in with reckless abandon," Lillith responded, as Flare got the attention of the waitress that was swerving in and out of tables.

The two quickly placed their orders, and resumed their conversation.

"Granted, she's been getting better at the whole 'not being an ass' thing. Cerulea and Iren are being the good influences that they need to be, and she's calmed down a hell of a lot more than when I first met her," Flare commented with a quiet laugh, his mind straying back to the first day with his new team.

"Ah, the good old times. Back when I was still a quiveringly nervous wreck, Iren rarely spoke a word and Tera spoke enough words for the rest of the students. Still better than our first year, trust me," Lillith said, a dark look passing over her face at the recollection of worse days.

"I'm surprised we've never talked about this. I have to say, I'm morbidly curious," Flare said as their order was placed in front of them, both the Huntress-in-training and the Guardian nodding a thanks to the waitress.

"Oh, don't even get me started. Our leader was a complete dick, one of those anti-faunus jerks, much like Cardin. In fact, that's probably what sparked Tera's anger when she heard him the first time. Triggered old memories, I'd suspect."

Flare laughed at that, the look on Cardin's face when he'd slammed him through a table still fresh in his mind. "I'm assuming his name didn't also start with an F, I doubt Ozpin was that lucky."

"No. Back then, we were Team Blight. Don't even get me started on the connotations of that name, trust me, I've put a lot of thought into it. Brass was a blight on society all right," Lillith replied, a frown on her face as she chipped away at the tiny cake in front of her with her teaspoon.

"Wait, Brass? You don't reckon he's still in Vale, do you?" Flare asked, an expression of mild concern on his face.

"No, last I'd heard he'd transferred to Haven. Why?" Lillith asked, a curious look on her face, tinted with a small amount of worry.

"The Vytal Festival, Lillith. Brass'll be here, and I think I've already met him and his team."

Lillith stared at her partner. "I don't think I want to know."

"When I was out buying my suit for the Dance, a group of hunters-in-training, or at least that's what I know them to be now, attempted to mug me. When they realised they were outmatched, their leader, named Brass, exploded. They all disappeared," Flare explained.

"Son of a bitch, that little prick! He is back in Vale! Brass's semblance was spontaneous combustion, which made him pretty difficult to fight in close combat," Lillith was getting irate, and Flare placed a calming hand on her balled up fist.

"Relax, Lillith. If we see him again, we can confront him, but there's no sense in getting angry now," Flare said.

"Sorry, it's just… he was my partner before you, you know? I can't bring myself to hate him, but I really want to. He makes me so damn mad, and you can imagine what he did to Tera, but now he's gone after you…" Lillith began, but Flare gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Don't worry about me, Lillith. The most he did was cut me with an aura-piercing blade, and that was at the very beginning. My aura healed it almost immediately," Flare said, but he noticed the way Lillith's head perked up rapidly. "What?"

"Did you say 'aura-piercing blade?'" She asked, concerned.

"Yeah, why?" Flare asked in return.

"Those are so expensive, and incredibly rare! Where did that two-bit thug get a hold of one?" His purple-themed partner exclaimed, eyes narrowing.

"What are they, exactly?" Flare asked, obliging his partner's aptitude for weaponry.

"Super-condensed dust crystals, infused with aura and cut into a blade. They take years to make, and cost no small fortune. A small knife like a switchblade would cost easily a few million Lien, and take at least two or three years to make. How does someone like Brass get a hold of a weapon like that?"

Flare frowned, his mind piecing things together. "Someone would've given it to him, and I was the target in specific."

"What?" Lillith exclaimed, looking back up at him.

Flare took a moment to down his drink, and Lillith did the same with her cake, leaving only crumbs. With a quick moment, Flare paid for the food and drink and quickly ushered Lillith out of the cafe.

"What do you mean, Flare?" Lillith asked, quieter this time but no less concerned.

"I mean, someone that wanted me out of the way, but couldn't do it themselves, too much risk if it comes back to them, you know? It bothered me, when they were talking, they called me a 'Faunus lover', which struck me as a little odd. I was being mugged, how would they know that, unless I wasn't a random target. Someone gave them that weapon, and wanted me dead, but they got a bunch of morally ambiguous morons, instead of a professional group."

Lillith walked alongside Flare as the two kept their eyes out, suddenly more wary of their surroundings.

"We can rule out the White Fang, at least, for multiple reasons, but they should be pretty obvious. Other than that, we know the Black Masks aren't hiring weaklings to kill me, so that rules them out. We know that Roman works with the White Fang, as do the Black Masks, and he has that assassin girl of his…" Flare trailed off, his eyes widening slightly.

"The connection… I think I might've figured it out!" Flare said, a surprised look on his face. "Roman, the Black Masks, the White Fang, and the mystery woman. They all have been alongside one another at one point or another, aside from the White Fang and the mystery woman. Which means, they're all working together… What would motivate a group of mercenaries, a professional thief and a group of self-titled revolutionary terrorists all have in common, and where does the mystery woman fall into place…"

"Flare, relax. Step by step, let's solve the Brass problem first," Lillith said, and Flare nodded grimly.

"Right, right… The only people I've made enemies with have their own assassins, so why would anyone hire a group of students to murder me?" Flare asked, half to himself and half to his partner.

"A red herring?" Lillith ventured.

"Like a distraction, to keep my attention elsewhere?" Flare asked, looking to his partner.

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. We've been pretty close to the action, and a lucky shot taking you out would be as successful as leading you on a wild goose chase, which means…"

"That we're dealing with some kind of time-critical situation, yeah. We need to get back to Beacon, Lillith, I've got to report this. Hate to cut our date short, though," Flare said, frowning.

"We've got heaps of schoolwork to do, plus we should probably help out Iren and Tera with preparing for that Hive lesson tomorrow," Lillith replied, a small smile on her face.

Flare wrapped the girl in a hug, surprising her.

"Thanks, Lillith."

"Y-yeah, sure," Lillith replied, leaning in to her partner.

She was almost reluctant to let go, but they couldn't very well walk back to Beacon like that, as much as she wished they could.

* * *

"This hasn't worked out quite how you'd said it would, Regis."

The voice over the communicator was modulated, just in case their comms were tapped, but Regis recognized it anyway.

"Onyx, I'm aware of your opinion of this operation, but I've done this longer than any of you. Trust me, misdirection is my strong suit," Regis replied.

"It looks like he's figured out it was a distraction, Regis," Onyx said, his voice metallic and mechanical.

"And once he figures out it was us, he'll redouble his efforts, and then he'll just so happen to stumble across me, and then he'll bring his team, and then we lure his team and him into the trap, and the four of us kill them. Simple, easy, foolproof. Or it would be, if you'd actually trust it."

"I'm with Regis on this one, Onyx." Riot said, his voice and accent modulated as well, but it was a rather pointless endeavour, as the man was standing next to Regis, the rooftop view providing a pleasant breeze alongside a clear view of their quarry.

"Because we all trust your judgement, Riot. Dare I mention the woman I disposed of yesterday?" Onyx replied.

A new voice joined their conversation.

"Enough," It said, the modulation much more detailed, the only distinguishing feature of the sound being that it was distinctly female. "Regis has a solid plan, follow it."

The three men quickly stopped bickering, a chorus of "Yes Haunt" following their quick silence.

The line went dead, and Regis stood up from where he was crouched, Riot following suit. The two looked across the way, and saw the other two black-masked figures do the same on the rooftop almost a hundred meters away, the other vantage point.

The four quickly made their way to an adjoining location, and what would have been a perfect time for Atlas to make use of their surveillance was suddenly made void as the four figures disappeared, seemingly fading out of existence.

HROR was on the prowl, and their target was exactly where they needed him.

All that awaited the Guardian was horror.

* * *

 **Sorry about the length of this chapter, but I've got an assignment due in a few hours and I really need to work on that instead, haha. A little bit of setup, and finally some revelations happening! Ooh, I'm so excited for all the foreshadowing I've been doing to finally come into play, and the big conclusion to Volume 2 is coming soon!**

 **And, as always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


	25. Chapter 25: Baking

"You can't be serious."

"It's the choice I have made."

Flare stared at the headmaster, hand on his forehead.

"Mr Archid, I believe we already have had this discussion, and regardless of what the first years have decided, I will not be changing it. We both know how dangerous it is to provoke their trouble-senses. If I am correct, you have something else to discuss?" Ozpin sipped his coffee, hand slowly drumming a slow beat atop his cane.

"All the information I have on Mountain Glenn is-" Flare began, but he noticed Ozpin's eyes narrow ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Flare sighed, but gave in. "We've stumbled across a few things, nothing major, but I think we can identify at least some connection between a few of our enemies. Just… I'm not a professional at this sort of thing, Headmaster. I kill things, I don't investigate crimes."

Flare paused for a moment. "We know that Torchwick is working with the White Fang, and we know the Black Masks are working with the White Fang, so we can reasonably assume that the Black Masks and Torchwick are working together, right?"

Ozpin nodded, sipping his coffee.

"Then there's the mysterious woman. She's only been seen twice, once with Torchwick, and once alone in the CCT, but we know that she's new to town. Torchwick has Neo for stealth, and the Black Masks have some method of staying undetected, so why send her?" Flare spoke, pacing back and forth.

Vier materialised, floating behind the guardian. "It is possible that the unknown woman wanted the CCT job done a specific way, Guardian. They say if you want a job done well do it yourself."

"Right, yeah. So there's a chance this mysterious woman is their leader, or at least someone significant in their group, whether it's an organisation, a conspiracy or something along those lines, or simply a gang with some pretty big plans, and even bigger connections." Flare stopped pacing to look at the headmaster.

"Interesting claims you are making, Mr Archid. Something that should definitely be considered in future. I'd had my suspicions, of course, but hearing you come to the same conclusion is a great benefit. Keep focusing on the Black Masks, as you call them, and I will have a professional investigate the claims that you and I are making," Ozpin said, before frowning as his scroll buzzed.

"I can see you're busy, sir, so I'll get out of your way. Good luck on your end," Flare said, backing away from the desk and exiting the office.

"Good luck to you as well, Mr Archid."

* * *

"I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it, Flare, it's what's happening."

"I know, Lillith, but why are they sending a group of first years out on a second year mission?"

Flare was pacing again, although this time it was up and down their dorm room.

"Flare, it's because RWBY wouldn't back down no matter what. They would've stowed away on a Bullhead or stolen a car or something. One's a wilful heiress, another's an ex-terrorist. Just between the two of them I'm pretty sure they could go anywhere."

Lillith was laying on one of the couches, weapons magazine resting on her chest.

"I mean, I'm worried about them. They're our friends, and our students. We've seen how good they are at getting into trouble."

"Flare, relax. They're shadowing a professional Huntsman."

"Do you actually know who that Huntsman is?"

"No, why?"

Flare stopped pacing to stare at his girlfriend-slash-partner.

"Oobleck."

"Oh. Well, now you've got me worried. Although, he is a professional Huntsman, and you don't get there by being bad at it. They'll be alright. There aren't any Hive in Mountain Glenn anyways."

Flare lifted Lillith's legs, plopping down into the couch and resting her legs atop his.

"So, remind me where Iren and Tera are?" Flare asked.

"Probably enjoying their day out somewhere."

Flare hummed a committal sound, closing his eyes and leaning back into the cushions.

A moment passed, the two enjoying the peace and quiet, before it was interrupted.

Flare palmed his scroll, answering it and putting it on speaker as Iren rang.

"Flare, Lillith, how fast can you get to Vale?"

Flare looked at Lillith, who held up five fingers. "Five minutes."

"Meet us at the shuttle dock, Tera and I might've gotten a lead on the Black Masks."

Flare stood up as Lillith retracted her legs, joining him in verticality. "We're on our way."

Stepping over to the table, Flare tossed Lillith her weapons, before quickly unholstering Sunshot and checking the magazine. It was full, thankfully, red dust rounds sitting still inside, the converted firing mechanism still appearing to function correctly.

"Ready?" Flare asked, grabbing his helmet.

"Always," Lillith replied, grabbing her own.

"We really need to get you guys new helmets."

LINEBREAK

The two stepped off the Bullhead, pacing quickly towards the other two members of FLIT, who stood at the exit.

"What've we got, Iren?" Flare asked.

"I was thinking, and I realised that there is a group of people who would know of every single person who passed through the North Gate in the Vale Wall," Iren replied.

"Yeah?" Flare said, falling into step alongside his taller teammate as the two girls brought up the rear.

"My father works on the Wall, for maintenance. He's got contacts throughout all the guys who work it, and one of them would have to have seen the guy we're looking for," Iren explained. "Unfortunately, I don't know where Dad is at the moment, but that's why I figured we'd go see someone who does."

Flare quirked an eyebrow. "And that is?"

Iren sighed. "My mother."

Fifteen minutes of walking around inner Vale, the four came to a stop out the front of a small two story building.

'Flower's Flours' sat at almost a wonky angle, the building old and worn, but it was clear that it wasn't due to misuse.

Iren stepped through, Tera and Lillith following him in, Flare bringing up the rear of the party.

"Mum?" Iren called out.

"Iren, darling, is that you?" The voice was distinctly feminine, but it had a remarkably familiar feeling to it, and Flare struggled not to laugh as a woman that looked like a female version of Iren stepped around from the kitchen behind the counter.

"Hey Mum." Iren greeted.

"Iren, darling, it is you! And you brought the nice members of your team! Hello Tera, hello Lillith!" The woman greeted in return, a beaming smile on her face.

Tera gave a wave, and Lillith smiled. "Hey Mrs Roust."

The woman scoffed. "Bah, I told you to call me Flower! Now, I don't mean to be rude, but I do hope you didn't bring that awful leader of yours!"

Flare was really struggling not to laugh at this point.

"Not exactly, Mum. He left at the end of the first year, remember?" Iren said.

"Oh yes, I do recall you mentioning that…" Flower trailed off.

"This is Flare, our new leader. Flare, this is my mother."

Flare stepped forward and felt his wrist become paste underneath the powerful and enthusiastic handshake the woman provided. "A pleasure to meet you, Mrs Roust."

The woman released his hand, to his undying gratitude, scoffing once again. "You can do the same as the girls, Flare! Call me Flower!"

Flare gave a nod and a smile, stepping back into his place.

"So, Iren, what brings you around to see your poor old mother?" Flower asked, a good-natured frown on her face.

"Have you seen Dad? We need his help." Iren asked.

Flower scoffed again, a recurring theme. "I'm afraid I have no idea where your father is, darling." She noticed the horrified look on her son's face and quickly amended the statement. "This morning he was being reassigned to a different section, but neither of us know where that is. If you need to speak to him, I suppose you are just going to have to wait, or I can get him to call you if you are in a rush."

Iren turned to look at Flare, a questioning look on his face.

"I don't think we're in a rush, so if you don't mind us lingering…" Flare said, and Flower jumped at the chance.

"Of course, of course! You're welcome to stay, take a seat! Iren, there's a batch of loaves in the oven, number 6, could you be a dear?"

As Flare, Tera and Lillith sat, the three watched in amusement as the biggest person on the team nimbly donned an apron and followed the quickly issued orders of his mother.

It was a far cry from any of their home lives, seeing as one was an orphan, one had a rather complicated past she hadn't yet gone into, and one was an alien warrior from a different planet that fought against other alien warriors from different planets.

"So, Flare, I feel like I should ask about you! Where are you from, how did you end up as the leader of… well, I suppose I don't know the team name now, do I?" Flower laughed, taking a seat with the rest of them.

"It's FLIT. I'm from the wilds, around Patch specifically, that sort of area, but I've just been wandering for a few years. I met Ozpin through a friend, and he appointed me the leader, seeing as I already had significant combat experience," Flare explained, only half-lying.

"Ah, yes, of course. It's good to hear that my boy is with a capable leader now," Flower said, as Iren stepped back into the room, behind the counter, a raised eyebrow on his face.

"Oh shush you, we all agree your previous leader wasn't very nice to say the least. At least you have manners!" Flower said, her left hand performing a complicated series of movements.

Iren sighed, and bent underneath the counter, reaching into the display cabinets and rearranging various pastries.

Flare had to chuckle at the subservience Iren showed.

"So, Tera…" Flower began, and Flare watched in good humour as Tera flushed bright red, and began stammering as Flower immediately picked up on the underlying message and brought it right out into the open.

Flare pulled out his scroll, and with the assistance of Vier quickly tapped into the CCTV cameras that lined the streets of Vale.

" _Vier, keep an eye out for anything strange, and doubly so our friend Regis. Keep an ear out for secured communications, too, but be careful. We still don't know if the CCT is compromised,"_ Flare subvocalized, Vier pinging an affirmative.

Flare tuned back into the conversation as the relatively short discussion about Tera and Iren's relationship ended, only to realise that the woman was about to move onto a significantly more relevant relationship.

"So, what about you Lillith? Found someone?" Flower asked, a cheeky grin on her face.

"I like to think so, but it's up to him whether or not it goes anywhere," Lillith snarked.

"Yeah yeah, not like I have much experience with people to begin with, let alone relationships," Flare replied, a smirk on his face.

Flower burst into laughter. "You two are so much like myself and Steyel."

Flare made the rapid assumption that Steyel was Iren's father. At least he knew who named his large teammate.

"You called?" A voice rang out, deep and gravelly, but light-hearted nonetheless.

"Oh, Steyel honey, how are you? Iren and his team have stopped by, he was asking after you," Flower said by way of greeting.

Steyel stepped inside, and it was clear that the genetics for Iren's size was an equal split, the bear of a man stepping over the threshold and effectively blocking all the light from the doorway. "Hey there Tera, Lillith, how have you two been? Feels like it's been ages since we've seen you!"

Tera and Lillith both greeted the bear of a man.

"And you, I don't believe we've met. I'm Steyel Roust, nice to meet ya!"

Flare felt his proffered hand cease to exist. To think he thought that Flower had a powerful handshake.

"I'm Flare, the new team leader. Likewise," Flare grunted out through the pain, doing his best to make it seem like he wasn't in agony. Maybe it would've been better to have replaced both arms with mechanical prosthetics.

Although, that line of thinking was probably what led to the origin of the Exo, so he wasn't a hundred percent sure accidentally birthing a race of sentient machines on Remnant was the greatest idea.

Steyel released his hand, and stepped back. "Iren, boy, what'd you need to see me for, 'cause I assume it isn't just to see me!"

Iren stepped out of the kitchen, apron coming off, as Flower stood up and took his place.

"Hey Dad, good to see you. We're tracking a man by the name of…" Iren trailed off, and Flare supplied the name.

"Regis."

"We're tracking a man called Regis, he was last seen around this area. We're thinking there is a chance that you or one of the other maintenance guys saw him," Iren explained, as Flare withdrew his scroll once again and supplied an image.

Steyel put a hand on his stubble, stroking his chin as he hummed in thought. "Hmm… I don't recall seeing him, but maybe one of my guys did. When do you 'reckon he got through the Vale Wall?"

Iren turned to Flare, and Flare spoke up. "A week or two ago at most, but that's a real rough estimate. Pretty much all the intel we have on this guy is guesswork."

"I'll toss it 'round to the guys that worked during that time, see if they come up with anything, but that might take between a few hours to a few days, so you've got some time to kill," Steyel replied, as Flare sent Iren the image, who proceeded to send it to his father.

"Anything is better than nothing though Dad, so whatever you can do would be really helpful," Iren said, as Steyel helped himself to one of the pastries in the display cabinet, ignoring his wife smacking him on the shoulder with a wooden spoon.

"Well, I'll send whatever I get to you as soon as I do get it, so you shouldn't need to worry." Steyel bit into the pastry, jam and pastry flakes exploding around his mouth. "Mmf, gud!"

Iren just shook his head at his father's antics, likely used to this sort of thing. "Well, we've got to head back to Beacon, but thanks for the help Dad, and it was nice to see both of you."

Flare, Tera and Lillith stood up as Steyel and Flower hugged their son, waving the team out the door.

The four walked down the streets of Vale, the sun setting leaving the atmosphere peaceful, a pleasant orange-pink glow in the sky.

"I'm surprised you don't have some angsty background story or something like I do, Iren," Flare said, laughing.

Iren laughed in reply. "Yeah, yeah. Mum owns and runs a bakery, Dad's a welder, a really good recipe for drama. I can't turn into shadows or teleport, so I'm not much for the angsty background."

"At least you have your family, Iren," Tera said, a little sullenly.

"You guys are a part of the Roust family, they won't let you say no," Iren replied, a small smile on his face.

Tera caught Iren by the arm, clutching him a little closer. Flare stretched his arm around to encompass Lillith, and the four walked through the quiet streets.

"I wonder how RWBY is doing?" Flare asked, as they walked.

"You are far too worried about them. We helped train them, even if it was only for a few days. They can handle themselves, and Oobleck is there to back them up," Lillith replied.

"Besides, not like the White Fang are actually threats to those guys. I mean, they've got Blake. What's better to counter a terrorist organisation than an ex-terrorist?" Tera pointed out.

"With Blake and Cerulea working as intelligence, we'd be able to take down the White Fang no problems," Iren said with a chuckle.

"Let's focus on finding Regis first, shall we?" Flare asked.

"Well, I'm not really that hard to find."

* * *

 **Cliffhangers, man.**

 **Oh, OnePunchPlayer, I know, the name is pretty close. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not.**

 **Speaking of names, what do you guys think of Flower and Steyel? Coming up with names on the spot isn't a specialty of mine, but I think they stick pretty damn close to the naming conventions RWBY follows, despite the obvious misspellings I've been using to give some variety. Steel isn't a memorable name, but Steyel is in my opinion.**

 **Also, it's been a while since we've had a fight. I look forward to changing that.**

 **And, as always, see you next chapter  
~AFatFlyingWhale**


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